I race through the apartment, Tae's worried voice calling out behind me.
"Jimin! Jimin! What's going-"
I slam the door shut, cutting his question off short. I sprint down the hallway, taking the stairs two at a time, my footsteps thundering through the stairwell. I throw open the door, my teeth gritting in pain as it collides with my shoulder.
No time for pain. Yoongi's the main priority.
Rushing through the lobby, I pull out my cell phone. I quickly dial Namjoon's number, placing the phone to my ear as it rings. It rings once, cutting off as Namjoon's deep voice greets me.
"Jimin?"
"Hyung! Where are you?"
"I'm at Jin's. Why do you sound so out of breath?" I hear a gasp. "Don't tell me Yoongi-"
"This is about Yoongi, hyung." I take a deep breath, trying to keep my emotions at bay. "He's hurt."
There's a second of tense silence before the line explodes, Namjoon's worried voice yelling at me.
"What do you mean? What happened? JIN COME HERE!" I flinch at his yell, pulling the phone back from my ear a bit.
"I don't know all the details. We were on the phone and-" I suck in a shuddering breath. "And then suddenly someone else was on the line, telling me that they were calling an ambulance for him."
I race down the street, weaving through the crowds of people as Namjoon relays my story to Jin. The phone clatters and Jin's voice comes through the line.
"Did they say what hospital they were taking him too?" I tell him the hospital. "Okay, it's closer to you but we'll be there as soon as possible okay?" I nod before realizing that he can't see me.
"Okay. I'll see you then."
"And Jimin?" Jin's calls softly, stopping me from hanging up.
"Yeah?"
"He'll be okay. Yoongi's the strongest person I know."
The emotions I was fighting surge forward, tears breaking free from my eyes to trail down my cheeks. I think about Yoongi and all the hardships he had to face: the colorblindness that was shoved on him for something he didn't do, the loneliness he tries so hard to hide from everyone.
"Me too," I say, my voice thick with emotion. I wipe my hand across my cheeks, wiping away the traces of my tears.
"Good. Namjoon and I are leaving right now, so we'll see you soon, okay?"
"Okay."
There's a soft click as he hangs up. Sliding the phone back in my pocket, I think back to what Jin said about Yoongi being okay.
He deals with so much already. Will this be the last straw? Will this be what finally breaks him?
I shake my head, pushing the thoughts away. I had to stay positive. Yoongi would make it through this, there's no way he wouldn't.
I keep running, pushing my legs harder as the hospital appears in the distance. The sun glints off the windows, taunting me. Anxiety builds in me as my feet pound on the concrete, each step bringing me closer to uncertainty.
I slow as I approach the front doors, taking a deep breath to try and steady my racing heart. The doors slide open as I approach them, my eyes darting around the sterile-looking lobby until they find my destination. Picking up my pace, I walk up to the information desk. The woman seated behind the desk makes no move to acknowledge my existence, her nails clicking obnoxiously against the screen as she types on her phone.
I clear my throat, trying the get her attention. I watch as her eyes slide to me, then right back to her phone. Anger bubbles in my stomach as I clear my throat again, this time even louder. This time she doesn't even bother to look at me. I slam my hand down on the wood, a thud echoing around the crowded lobby as eyes turned to look in our direction.
The girl turns towards me, a sneer plastered on her face as she addresses me. "Can I help you?"
"Oh, why thank you," I say, the world's fakest smile on my face. "I need to know about a patient. He came in by ambulance."
She rolls her eyes, but turns to her computer. "Patient's name?"
"Min Yoongi," I say, tapping my fingers against the wood.
"And your relationship to the patient?"
"Oh, um. I'm- we're-" I stutter, unable to really explain what we were. Friends? Enemies? Sighing, I just go the safest route. "We're neighbors."
"Then I'm afraid I can't tell you anything, sir," she says, he face telling me she wasn't really all that sorry.
"What do you mean?" I growl, frustration shooting through me.
"Since you're not his relative or spouse, I can't legally tell you anything about his care." She turns back to her phone, effectively dismissing me.
"Damn it!" I bite out, turning away from the desk. I pace the lobby, trying to figure out what I was going to do now.
"Jimin?" A voice calls out to me, freezing me in my steps.
I turn, a groan working it's way out of me as my eyes land on the last person I want to see right now. "Hoseok," I greet, nodding at him.
He approaches me slowly, my eyes taking in the sadness in his features, the redness in his eyes. "You're here for Yoongi?" He asks, his voice tired.
"Yeah but this fool-" I jab my finger behind me, towards the receptionist, "-won't tell me anything."
He nods in understanding. He reaches his arm out, gesturing to a bench. "Maybe we should sit?" He sinks down on the bench, patting the spot beside him. I watch him for a moment, hesitant. Sighing, I approach him slowly, sinking down beside him.
"I rode here in the ambulance with him," he admits quietly. Jealousy shoots through me at the thought of Yoongi being at Hoseok's. I shouldn't care. After all, I was the one who told him that we couldn't be together. I just wish he hadn't listened to me.
"He was with you?" I ask, bitterness creeping into my tone. He nods slowly, his eyes dropping to the floor. "Why?"
"To talk to me," he explains. I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off, raising his hand between us. "And before you ask, I'm not going to tell you why. That's his business to say, not mine." I clamp my mouth shut, gritting my teeth. Hoseok looks at me for a moment, his eyes watching me warily. "Anyway," he says after a moment. "I came here in the ambulance with him. So I know what's going on." My heart stutters, my mouth drying as anxiety fills me.
"C-can you tell me?"
"Are you sure you really want to know?" He asks, his eyes meeting mine.
"Of course," I answer instantly, not even needing a moment to think about it.
Hoseok sinks back in his seat, sighing. His face falls, sadness darkening his features. "Apparently, he was hit with a door-"
"He needed an ambulance because he got hit by the door?" I interrupt, confused.
Hoseok glares at me. "Don't interrupt, Jimin," he chastises, wiggling his finger at me. "He got hit with a door," he says, starting again. "And that impact caused his appendix to burst."
"His appendix? Shouldn't it take more than that to make it burst?"
He nods. "By the look of things, they said it seemed like he had been suffering from appendicitis for weeks. They were surprised that it hadn't burst before that or that he hadn't come in from being sick."
I hear a gasp and turn towards it, seeing Namjoon and Jin. Namjoon was clinging to Jin's arm, unusually pale. "I knew something was wrong," Namjoon says, approaching us slowly. "I-I went to him this morning and he seemed unusually pale. And when I touched him, he was burning up." He gulps, guilt engraved in his features. "I just assumed it was because he hadn't been eating well." A tear tracks down his cheek, his voice breaking with his next question. "Could I have prevented this if I had noticed sooner?"
Jin wraps his arms around Namjoon, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Hoseok leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "He's in surgery right now, so the doctor's don't know the full extent of the damage. He was so weak when they came in, they weren't sure he was going to make it through the surgery at all."
My heart shatters, a cry breaking free from between my gritted teeth. Hoseok pats my and, desperate for the reassurance, I don't push him away. "They called his parents, and they're on their way, but Daegu is hours away," Hoseok explains.
"Do they have any idea how long the surgery will take?" Jin asks, still trying to soothe his fiancé.
Hoseok shakes his head. "Unfortunately, no. It all depends on how far the infection has spread, since they have to make sure that they get it all," he explains.
Jin nods, leading Namjoon to a bench beside ours, "So we wait."
We settled back, preparing for the longest wait of our lives.
Hours pass, the sinking sun casting eerie shadows in the lobby. I look over to Jin and Namjoon to see the couple's heads tilted together, fast asleep. Soft snores escaped Namjoon, but Jin didn't stir at all.
"Are you really not going to tell me what he was there for?" I ask Hoseok, knowing that, like me, he was too tense to sleep right now.
I hear him sigh, the sound quickly swallowed by one of Namjoon's snores. "That's not my business, Jimin. And honestly, is it any of yours either?"
I turn towards him, glaring at him. "Excuse me?"
He leans his head back, his orange hair darkening as shadows fall over it. "I know you dumped him, Jimin. So is it really any of your business what he comes to talk to me about?"
My stomach drops. It was the truth, but it still stung. "You don't know what you're talking about," I say, crossing my arms.
He closes his eyes. "I know that you two are meant to be together. Yet for some reason, you both are too stupid to realize it." A bitter laugh escapes him. "I can't believe you actually walked away from him. What an idiot," he says, chuckling. I pout, squeezing my arms closer to myself. He glances over to me. "It's not just you, Jimin. He's an idiot for letting you leave. You're a couple of idiots," he chuckles.
"We're not-"
"Jimin!" Yoongi's mother's soft voice calls out to me. I stand, my eyes meeting her worried ones. She launches towards me, her arms wrapping around my waist. "Are you okay, dear? I know this must be so hard," she says, squeezing me closer.
I let my arms wrap around, feeling her frail shoulders shake under my hands. I look up, giving Yoongi's father a quick nod. He returns it, standing back as his wife continues to squeeze the life out of me.
After a few moments, she steps back, her teary eyes meeting mine. She reaches out, cradling my cheek as she wipes the tears that had broken free. "My sweet boy, don't cry," she coos, trying to soothe me even when she was just as distraught. "He'll be okay."
She pulls away from me, walking to Namjoon, his snores stopping as she kicks him awake. "Joonie, it's time to get up," she says. Namjoon's eyes shot open, darting around the lobby before landing on the woman in front of him.
"Any news yet?" He groans, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"Not yet," I reply, shaking my head. "But it should-"
"Family of Min Yoongi?" A doctors asks, approaching our group slowly. We all stiffen as he approaches, apprehension filling us.
Yoongi's father steps forward, bowing to the doctor. "That would be us," he says, grabbing his wife's hand and drawing her to his side.
The doctor nods. "I'm Dr. Shen and I was in charge of your son's care," he says, introducing himself. "As I'm sure you know, his appendix had burst. The infection had spread quite a bit, but luckily we were able to clear it all out." Our group releases a collective sigh, a bit of our tension leaving us. "He's in recovery now, and should be awake soon. I can take one of you back to see him, if you like."
"Do you want to go back, honey?" Yoongi's father asks, squeezing his wife's hand.
She shakes her head. "No." She turns toward me, her eyes burning into my own. "Jimin will go."
"B-But he's your son," I say, flustered.
She grabs my hand, pulling me closer. "He may be my son, but when he wakes up, it won't be my face that he'll want to see."
She pushes my back, sending me towards the doctor, who motions for me to follow him. We move through the halls, our footsteps echoing in the eerily silent hallways. "This is his room," he says, gesturing to the door we were approaching. "You can go in whenever you're ready." And with that he walks away, leaving me staring at the door. Blinds were pulled across the door, blocking my view of the room, and person, that lay behind them.
Taking a deep breath, I slide the door open. My eyes land on Yoongi, my heart racing at the sight of him. I approach him slowly, sadness filling me at his state. His face was pale, the bags under his eyes stark in comparison. A frown tugs at my lips as I realize he has lost weight, his previously chubby cheeks thinner. I reach out, a sigh leaving me as I touch his cheek, the skin smooth under my fingers.
Sinking into the chair beside his bed, I watch the slow rise and fall of his chest, vowing to never take those little movements for granted again.
Feeling more peaceful that I had in weeks, I close my eyes. I lean back, settling in to wait for the moment when he opens his eyes.
