"Noona, I'm really sorry that I couldn't let you know earlier, 'cause you know how our family's like. But everything aside, please visit Jimin hyung as soon as possible, he's been asking for you for about two weeks already. I might sound like I'm exaggerating, but I'm afraid that if you don't go to Jimin hyung, he'll come to you."
Youngmin's words haunted your mind as you made your way back into the warm restaurant, your hands cold and clammy and your face a deathly shade of white. The mood at the table contrasted yours widely- Taehyung and Jungkook were downing their fifth glasses of beer each as they was being cheered on by the rest, while you were uneasy, cold sweat collecting near your hairline.
Your trembling hands didn't go unnoticed by Jungkook, who shot a concerned glance your way. He seemed to have sensed the worry in your eyes and the uneasiness in your movements as you settled down next to him.
"[Y/N], is anything wrong?" Jungkook asked softly, careful not to catch the others' attention as his fingers skimmed over your knuckles carefully. He definitely wasn't sober though, given the way his eyes didn't seem to be focusing on you properly and the way he'd slurred a little.
You debated whether to tell Jungkook the truth, knowing that he wouldn't exactly be thrilled to know that his girlfriend's dead husband was supposedly alive. You gulped, attempting to bite back a lie trying to escape from your mouth. But still, words tumbled from your mouth senselessly.
"Jung... Jungyi called to say that she wasn't feeling well, and that... she wants to meet me now," You fibbed, pulling away from Jungkook a little, hoping he wouldn't notice how you fiddled with your fingers nervously.
"Jungyi?" He frowned, his eyebrows pulling taut, "As in, Jungyi from your university?"
"Yeah," You answered, before feeling guilt curl at the base of your spine, your eyes not meeting Jungkook's properly.
"But it's fine, I can tell her-"
"It's okay [Y/N], just go. She's your best friend. Just don't complain whenever I have a guys' night out next time, promise?"
A lazy smile was etched on his face as he held out his pinky finger and you stared at him for a moment, your heart wrenching and unwrenching as you wound your finger around his.
"Promise."
You smiled weakly and tipped Jungkook's chin up for a soft kiss before reaching for your bag. He tasted like the beer which he'd been chugging down just minutes ago, bitter yet sweet all the same.
"I'll see you at home," You murmured as you got off your seat.
"Stay safe," Jungkook nagged and you shot him a faint smile before heading out.
"Eh? [Y/N], where are you going?" Hoseok asked, looking up from his phone.
"To visit Jungyi, she isn't feeling well."
"That's weird, I was just with her a few hours ago and she was fine," Hoseok mumbled to himself, his face drawn in confusion and worry.
"Well.. you know, stuff came up suddenly. No biggie though," You reassured him in a light hearted manner, and pretended to check the time on the watch on your wrist, "I'll be going now. See you soon."
Not giving Hoseok a chance to reply, you ducked out of the door at lightning speed, your footsteps echoing down the nearly empty street as you made your way to the nearby metro.
Once you felt like you'd finally caught your breath and calmed down, you fished your phone out of one of your coat pockets, dialling Jungyi's number.
"Hello!" She chirped down the other end of the phone and you felt some of the uneasiness from earlier wash away.
"Jungyi, something major happened."
"Is this about Jungkook?" She chuckled.
"No. Jimin's alive."
There was a low thud accompanied an abrupt silence. You suspected that she'd either fell off her bed or her phone had slipped out of her hands. There was brief fumbling on the other end, and Jungyi was back on the line.
"WHAT?"
You chuckled dryly, "You heard me."
"But.. how?"
"From what Youngmin said, Jimin didn't die when he got washed away by the strong currents, but instead fell into a coma and was cared for by doctors in one of the more rural areas of Jeju. And yeah... you sort of know what happened next."
"Woah..." You heard Jungyi suck in a breath, "So.. does Jungkook know?"
Your voice dropped, "He doesn't. I couldn't bear to spoil his birthday."
"And, will you tell Jimin?"
"I don't know, I'm so conflicted right now," You wailed into your phone, much to the chagrin of those seated around you on the train.
"Oh my... this is shaping up to be a huge disaster. I'm really sorry, [Y/N], but I'm busy right now so I can't go down to meet you know, but keep me updated, alright?"
"It's okay, Jungyi. I will," You mumbled.
And the line cut off. The train inched forward.
The stranger who had been sitting next to you this whole time nudged you, "Nice story. Is that for a drama?"
You mumbled, sagging further into your seat, "I wish."
•
•
•
The white, sterile environment of a hospital had always scared you, and you couldn't help but wrap your arms around yourself as goosebumps appeared on your arms. You gripped onto your phone tightly as you peered at a text message Youngmin had sent just minutes ago.
Youngmin
Jimin hyung's in room 1907.
(read 10.09pm)
The nearly empty hallways did nothing to soothe your nerves as you made your way pass the identical wooden doors of the hospital suites until one of the doors caught your attention.
It read: Room 1907. Patient: Park Jimin.
It was Jimin's room, no doubt.
The pounding of your heart intensified when you pushed open the wooden door with shaking hands, the purified air of the hospital suite making you stiffen against your will. You turned around, not daring to look up from the floor as you closed thr door behind you softly.
"[Y/N]."
You raised your eyes nervously, and there sat Jimin. His voice still sounded the same as it did in your memory of him, albeit a little more gruff. He looked like he'd lost a little weight judging by his slightly hollowed out face and smaller face, which was a given since he'd been in a coma for three years. Jimin looked paler than ever, but other than that, he could still maintain a presence in the room, once which used to be able to reassure you but now, made you fraught with nerves.
He'd been reading a book, with Youngmin by his side, and looked up when you'd opened the door, his ears perking up at the slightest sounds. A wide grin spread across his face as you made your way over to him slowly, the uncertain expression on yours a complete contrast to his.
Youngmin got up, mumbling something about needing to give the both of you space and in moments, the door closed once again, leaving both you and Jimin alone in the room.
"Jimin," You breathed, still unsure as too whether the man sitting before you on a hospital bed was the real deal.
He patted the stool next to his bed, motioning for you to take a seat, which you did so, albeit a little uncertainly.
"How have you been living, [Y/N]?" Jimin spoke first, voice cutting through the tension in the air.
"Fine... I guess."
"Did you miss me? I missed you lots," Jimin smiled, his eyes crinkling into crescents as his pink, full lips stretched to reveal pearly white teeth beneath. He reached over to thread his warm fingers into your cold ones, his touch comforting yet foreign at the same time.
"I did," You mumbled, stomach twisting and turning as you let your gaze roam freely around the room instead of resting on Jimin himself.
It was nice and spacious, with tasteful paintings hanging over any bare walls, small potted plants perched on the windowsill next to Jimin's bed.
"Don't you have anything to say to me, [Y/N]?"
Jimin was smiling.
"...What?"
Your shocked expression must have amused and confused Jimin at the same time, given how he doubled over, breaking out into a laugh which resembled the light tinkling of bells.
"I meant, we've been apart for so long," Jimin explained, "Don't you want to say anything to me?"
He looked at you expectantly, and you couldn't help but feel the panic slowly slipping away from your chest, relieved that Jimin hadn't been asking explicitly about Jungkook. You opened your mouth, about to reply when your phone buzzed urgently, getting your attention.
"I'm sorry, Jimin, let me take this call," You mumbled as you dug your phone out from your bag, promptly freezing when you saw that the caller ID belonged to Jungkook.
"Go ahead."
You stepped to one secluded corner of the room and picked up the call. Jungkook's voice came through in an instant.
"[Y/N], it's getting late. Where are you? I'll pick you up."
"I... Won't you be too drunk to drive?"
Jungkook chuckled, "Did you forget that I can drink really well?"
"Ah."
"So, where are you now? I'll drive over."
"Seoul General Hospital."
"Wait... did something happen to Jung Yi?"
"She j-just wanted me to visit her relative with her, no biggie. But she's staying so I'm free to go," You stammered out a pathetic lie, hoping that Jungkook wouldn't notice the tension in your voice. Luckily, he seemed to have breezed past it.
"Alright," You could tell that he was already in his car, "I'll be over in a jiffy, probably 8 minutes."
"Ok," You said softly, "See you."
The line went dead and you threw your phone back into your bag, whipping around to go back to Jimin, who had been watching you expectantly.
"Who called?" He asked curiously.
Your throat went dry, "Just a friend. No worries."
You were about to sit back down when Youngmin popped his head around the door.
"Noona, visiting hours are over," He said, and all the tension slipped out of your stiff body at that moment, your lips parting to heave a silent breath.
The chair creaked and squealed as you stood up, its rubber-covered legs scraping against the wooden floor obnoxiously.
"You'll come and visit me tomorrow, right?" Jimin asked, eyes twinkling with a muted excitement as he peered up at you expectantly from under his slightly mussed black hair.
You could only nod, a thin smile splayed on your face. Jimin jutted his chin out, pudgy finger tapping lightly on his unblemished cheek by way of asking for a small peck.
"How about a goodbye kiss, sweetheart?" Jimin grinned.
Your stomach curled further in guilt.
"Noona! Hyung!"
Thank god for Youngmin.
"I'm sorry Jimin, but maybe another day," You murmured, "I'll visit you tomorrow."
You were pretty sure Jimin looked crestfallen, his lower lip jutted out in a dramatic pout as you turned around, heading out of the room without throwing another glance at Jimin, for fear that you might've broken down due to guilt right in front of him.
"I'll walk you to the entrance, Noona," Youngmin offered, and you nodded, striding alongside him as he led you out to the main entrance.
"Jimin hyung's recovering really quickly," Youngmin spoke quietly, "He started walking a week ago, but he'll probably need to stay under the hospital's observation for another few days."
Youngmin finished, smiling gently at you. You smiled back a little weakly, grateful that Jimin was making a fast recovery but simultaneously worried about breaking the news to both him and Jungkook.
"-probably won't be revealing that Jimin hyung's back for a few months, cause they want him to properly adapt to his surroundings, since he's been unconscious for a couple of years- oh Jungkook hyung!"
You snapped your head up to look at Youngmin, who was waving happily with a broad grin on his face to the parking lot. Your eyes followed the direction of his hand, and there Jungkook was, leaning against the door of his car, looking somewhat impatient. He'd never been the most patient guy you had known, given that his reputation in the company for being the typical nightmare boss who always demanded his employees to submit documents and pieces of work to him within hellish deadlines, earning him the nickname, 'Impatient Jeon.'
You'd learned about it on one of your visits to the office, and when Jungkook had asked about what you were giggling about, you told him. He hadn't been amused.
But the Jungkook at work was completely different from Jungkook at home (or just with you), and you were grateful for that. The tension on his face melted into a goofy grin as he spotted you and Youngmin at the entrance of the hospital. He waved back, before beckoning you to him.
"Oh Jungkook hyung's here to pick you up?" Youngmin asked, completely mystified as to how you and Jungkook even knew each other.
"Yeah, see you around, Youngmin," You flashed a quick smile at Youngmin before hurrying across the full parking lot, shuddering at the cold wind blowing lightly in the air.
The moment you were in reach of Jungkook, he wrapped his arm across your shoulder, pulling your body firm against his as he pressed a sweet kiss against your head. A whine escaped from your chapped lips as you melted into the comforting warm of his body, nuzzling your head into the crook of his neck as you wound your arms tightly around the small of his back.
"You're being unnaturally clingy today, is anything wrong?"
"Nothing... I just missed you and wanted to hold you," You murmured.
Jungkook laughed softly under his breath, humoring you as he cradled you safely in his strong arms, resting his head lightly on top of yours.
He didn't see how your hands balled into small fists behind his back, fingers digging hard enough into the flesh of your palms to draw out red marks which would last for days.
•
•
•
The smile on Jimin's face wilted as he watched you cross over the parking lot and into Jungkook's arms from the window of his hospital suite. Creases formed on the flawless skin of the man's forehead, his shaking hands balling into tight fists. He felt himself tremble in anger.
"No wonder you were behaving so weirdly, [Y/N]," He murmured under his breath, resisting the urge to slam his hands into the nearby wall. Instead, Jimin willed himself to calm down, forcing down the rage which had been threatening to spill out of his petit body.
He drew the curtains and stalked away from his window in silence, opting to sink down on the hospital bed, a smirk curving at the corners of his lips, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
In his haste to control his rage, he'd unknowingly awakened a monster sleeping deep inside his body.
"But it's okay, you'll always come back to me anyway, [Y/N]
(UNEDITED).