"Is this necessary?" Jungkook asks as he watches Hoseok take out a small pouch with a syringe and a vial of clear liquid.
"You haven't been taking your medicine like I told you to." Says the doctor as he injects the syringe into the vial and ejects the liquid out. "This is for your safely, as well as ours." He glances over to Jimin whom was waiting outside the room.
Jungkook scoffs at the Doctor. "This is why I didn't want him here in the first place! I told you he triggers Bunny!" He shouts but Hoseok was unfazed as he grabs Jungkook's arm and pokes around for a vein.
"I'm aware of that." Says Hoseok as he pokes the needle into Jungkook and injects the medicine into his arm.
Jungkook hisses in annoyance as a sharp pain goes through him. "Hyung, you need to get rid of him. He'll only make things worse." he says as he watches the doctor take the needle out of his arm.
"You let me worry about Jimin." says the doctor as he pushes Jungkook to lay down on his bed. "Just get some sleep."
"But I don't want to sleep knowing he's still around." Jungkook looks to the door again with a stiff yawn as he feels his entire body slowly shut down in to sleep mode. He leans his head on the pillow and soon enough light snores could be heard form him, indicating he has fallen asleep.
"Sleep well my little prince." Hoseok whispers as he gathers his belongings and heads out of the room where Jimin was patiently waiting by the door with a wide smile already on his face.
"What did you give him?" Jimin asks, looking into the room at a sleeping Jungkook.
"It's an anti-psychotic. One that helps sedate Jungkook's dark persona, Bunny. It's side effects are drowsiness so he's going to be out for a few hours." says the doctor as he closes Jungkook's door. "While he's asleep, this gives us a chance to talk about what happened-"
As the doctor was speaking, the sound of the door bell echoes across the hall. Both Jimin and Hoseok freeze in place as they look towards the main hall where the front door was. It was unusual for Hoseok to have guests, especially during this time of day.
"Stay here, I'm going to see who it is." he tells Jimin and walks down the hall to the front door. As he approaches, he hears someone knocking vigorously, letting him know that it was urgent.
"I'm coming!" He tells them with a hint of annoyance as he opens his door, his face falling completely blank all of the sudden at the sight of two Royal guards standing outside his door.
"Doctor, we are sent here by the king to bring you back to his mansion. Your services are urgently needed." Says one of the Royal guards.
Hoseok feels his stomach drop as he looks at the guards with a distraught gasp. "Is King Taehyung alright?" He asks and they nod in reply, their faces as blank as ever.
"The king is alright. It's the old king that needs urgent care. We must make haste as soon as possible." Says the other guard.
Hoseok takes a step back and glances down the hall where Jimin was waiting. This was terrible since he knew that he would have to leave Jimin alone with Jungkook. "Give me a moment." he tells them and shuts the door before they could reply.
"Doctor Jung, we can't keep the old king waiting." He hears them say from beyond the door but the matter at hand with Jimin was more urgent. Hoseok knew the old king was dying so it was pointless to make him rush. "Jimin, I need to speak to you." calls the doctor and Jimin walks over to him, glancing out the window at the royal guards.
"What's going on? Why are they here?" he asks with distaste in his tone.
"The king is dying."
"What!" Jimin gasps, his mind going into panic as he thought of Taehyung.
Seeing the distraught look on Jimin's face makes the doctor laugh a little with a shake of his head. "It's not Taehyung."
"So it's Yoongi?" he asks with a happy thought of Yoongi dying.
"No, it's old the king. Your ex-lover." remarks Hoseok and Jimin scoffs in reply.
"Oh? And they need you to go tend to him, right?" Jimin asks and Hoseok nods in agreement.
"Yup, I have to leave the mansion for a few hours, meaning you'll be alone with Jungkook." he says with a strained smile. This was definitely a bad idea but the doctor had no other choice. "I don't want to leave you alone with him, but I can't bring you either."
"Doctor Jung, we really need to make haste!" the guards call out again and by the tone of their voices, they were getting restless.
Hoseok takes a deep breath and reaches inside his pocket for a cellphone. "Take this and only use it for emergencies. And don't even think about calling anyone because it's marked to only call my phone." he gives the phone over to Jimin and goes to the front door.
"Wait...if you're really leaving me alone, then what am I supposed to do?" Jimin asks as he looks around the main hall. "You have no servants to tend to me and it's not like I can leave the mansion because obviously you'll just lock me in." he says as he looks at the phone. "And you don't even have games on this phone!"
"Don't be fucking ungrateful Jimin." Hoseok snaps as he grabs Jimin by the shirt collar, pulling him close. "You can watch TV or read a book. Down the hall three doors to the left is my library. You can have fun in there but whatever you do, DON'T enter Jungkook's room or else."
"Or else what?" Jimin's wide mochi smile appears as he presses his body against Hoseok's, snaking his small hands around the doctors waist. "You'll punish me?" he asks cutely, provoking the doctor to shove him away.
"I'll be back in a few hours. If you are hungry, make yourself something to eat in the kitchen." says the doctor as he reaches for the door.
"What? But where are your servants?" Jimin asks and Hoseok's laughs in response.
"Unfortunately, Bunny scared them all away. But I'm sure you can survive on your own for a few hours." he says, blowing a kiss at Jimin as he opens the door and leaves with the royal guards.
Jimin looks out the window as the guards escort Hoseok to a large car and quickly drive off. Another scoff and he stomps his way back down the hall and stops just in front of Jungkook's room. A smile draws on his face as he reaches out to open the door but growls when he finds that it's locked from the inside. "Of course he'd lock it." he lets out a deep huff and runs his hand through his hair. With nothing else to do, he decides to let Jungkook sleep for now and makes his way to the library.
++++++
"If you keep biting your lips, I'll have nothing left to kiss." Yoongi speaks to Taehyung as he watches the younger pace back and forth in front of the infirmary.
Taehyung bits his lower lip, the metallic taste of blood seeps into his mouth, alerting him to stop and look at Yoongi. "I'm nervous Yoongi." he says to his husband and looks down to the ground, his eyes brimming with fresh tears. "Once my father dies, I'll have to make a public broadcast to the entire district, as well as all of South Korea. I don't know if I can do it."
"Taehyung, we all knew this was going to happen. Even your father told you about this." says Yoongi as he lifts Taehyung's head up and wipes away a fallen tear. "As the king, you have to stay strong for us, for him, for this district, and most importantly, for yourself." he tells Taehyung as he places a soft kiss on his cheek.
Taehyung pulls him in close and holds onto his husband, embracing him with a warm hug as more tears slip from his eyes. Yoongi has been a great support for him since his father has fallen gravely ill. Taehyung wasn't sure how he would make it without him. "I'm so happy to have you by my side. I don't know what I'll do without you." he whispers and Yoongi let's out a faint chuckle.
"You're such a baby." the older mutters as he brushes his hand through Taehyung's thick hair. "But I love you all the same." he adds with a warm gummy smile.
"My lord, the doctor has arrived!" a servant announces as she approaches Taehyung and Yoongi. Behind her were the royal guards and Hoseok.
"My humble king, I have come as requested." Hoseok announces as he gives a polite bow to both Yoongi and Taehyung. "Where is he?" he asks, referring to the old king.
"He's in the infirmary." says Taehyung as his servant opens the door, allowing Hoseok to step inside.
"Did you have your final words with him?" asks the doctor and Taehyung nods. "Good. Then this will only take a moment." he says as he closes the door to the infirmary and turns around slowly to see the old king laying on a bed.
The old king was as pale as the sheets that wrapped around him and gaunt like a corpse. As Hoseok approaches him, he grimaces slightly to the off putting smell of death that hung in the air. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for the doctor, but even so, seeing the old king dying before him made his heart clench just a little.
"My lord, I came as soon as possible." says Hoseok as he pulls up a chair and sits beside the old kings bed.
The old kings turns his head a degree, his eyes are glossed over with a layer of tears, most likely when he said goodbye to his son. "Hoseok, it's time." he says in a low whisper as he holds his frail hand out for the doctor to take.
Hoseok grabs it and holds his hand firmly. "My lord, this is goodbye for us." he tells the old king with hurt written all over his face.
"I know Hoseok, but before I part from this world, I want you to listen to me." he coughs vigorously, his face contorts into that of a painful expression. "You and I know that once I die, the peace treaty between Busan and Daegu will diminish."
"I'm aware of that, which is why Taehyung will renew that treaty when the times comes." says the doctor as he gently pats the old kings arm. "You don't need to worry about your son."
"I'm not worried about my son. I'm worried about you." he coughs again, this time more deeply and raspier, causing his face to turn red for a moment. "When I took you in, I made sure to keep your real identity a secret and keep you under my protection. But now the time has come where I must leave you to fend for yourself."
Hoseok nods in response, remembering how the king took him in all those years ago when his district was destroyed in the war. That thought alone sent a bitter taste into the back of his throat. "I can protect myself so don't worry about me." he assures with a smile but the king was not moved by his words.
"Hoseok, I know you have the Prince of Busan in your mansion. If you know what's good for you, return him back to his home." says the old king as he squeezes Hoseok's hand.
The doctor smiles even wider, the point where it looks quite unnerving, but it was because Hoseok was fuming with rage inside. "He came to me looking for help. I'm only doing my job as a doctor." he says but the king yet again was not moved by his words.
"Hoseok, you and I both know that you have no intentions of helping him, you only want to use him to reclaim your district and your-"
"They took everything away from me." Hoseok spits out quickly, his hands begin to shake as that fury inside him simmers. "You think I'm going to pretend like nothing happened and move on?" he says as he leans in closer to the old king. "I don't think so. I'm going to reclaim was was lost, and the young prince is going to help me." he lets out a low eerie chuckle, one that makes the old king coil with fear.
"Hoseok, please don't do this. You are going to end up losing it all in the end." the old king warns, but Hoseok was unfazed by his words.
"I've already lost it all, and I'm going to get it back. One way or another." Hoseok says as he stands up and brushes his hand through the old kings hair.
The ambitious look in his eyes reminded the old king of Jimin and that alone made his heart weakly pulsate in agony. "Your ambitions will drive you crazy Hoseok. Please return the boy back to his home and move on." he urges with a weak voice as his heart begins to slow down.
Hoseok laughs at the dying kings words. Who was he to tell Hoseok to move on when he wasn't the one that had everything ripped out of his hands by savages. "In case you haven't noticed my lord." Hoseok leans in very close to king, resting his lips next to his ear. "I'm already crazy." he kisses the old kings cheek. "I'm forever grateful for what you've done for me, my humble king. I will never forget you." he speaks softly, still holding that crazed look in his eyes as he grabs the Kings wrist.
"Hoseok, I'm begging you...return Prince Jungkook back to Busan...before..its too late.." the old kings says with a raspy voice as his chest heaves in and out, clutching for the last drop of air.
Hoseok clutches the kings wrist tightly, the feeling of his weakening pulse draws tears to the doctors eyes as he looks the king in his eyes and smiles. As thoughtful as the old king was, he wouldn't understand Hoseok's pain, the pain he lived with for five long years.
"Thank you for everything my humble king." he says as he grabs a pillow next to the old king and hovers it above his face.
The old king's eyes widen, an airy gasp escaping him, as Hoseok shoves the pillow on his face, smothering him. Silent tears slide down the doctors cheeks as the king twitches beneath him, his hands grabbing at Hoseok's arm to push him off, but they were too weak to even break his hold.
After about a full minute of struggling, the king's body went limp, his hands fall at his sides as he stops breathing all together. Hoseok pulls away the pillow and stares at the pale face of the now deceased king. It hurts him to do it, but it had to be done. No one can get in his way of getting what was truly his, no one.
"Hyung, what's going on in there?" Taehyung calls out from beyond the door.
Hoseok quickly places the pillow back in its spot and places the cover over the old kings face. "Sleep well, my humble king." he whispers as he wipes the tears from his eyes and puts on a straight face.
He then goes to the door and opens it, meeting the intense gaze of Taehyung. "So? What happened?" he asks, the tears in his eyes already start to fall once again at the grim expression on the doctors face.
Hoseok takes one last glance into the room, over to the old king's body, then looks to Taehyung with a sympathetic smile. "Send word to the public. The old king is dead."