[♫]

She wasn’t going to die.

Objectively, she knew this. She knew that standing in an elevator wasn’t going to kill her. She understood that, rationally.

But the irrational side of her insisted that she was going to die, that she was an idiot for taking the elevator rather than the stairs. Why would she purposely put herself at the mercy of technology that she couldn’t control? Clearly, she was insane.

But Sujin really wanted to get over her claustrophobia. It wasn’t an issue most of the time, but taking the stairs all the time was so tedious. If she could just get over her phobia, then she could be normal, like everyone else.

And sure, half of her was freaking out, but the calm half was doing a good job of staying in control. She was doing fine. She was going to get through this and get rid of a little of her fear of small, enclosed spaces.

But then.

The elevator jolted and stopped in between floors. Sujin froze against the wall, gripping the handrail so tightly her knuckles were white, unable to do anything but stare unblinkingly at the door.

Maybe the elevator would kill her after all.

Shaking uncontrollably, she slowly slid against the walls to the button pads and called for help.

“Hello, this is elevator control, is something wrong?”

“Y-yes, the...the el—” Sujin took a deep breath. “The elevator...stopped.”

“Stopped?” There was some clicking, then: “Oh I see, it’s stuck between the third and fourth floors. Alright, miss, hang in there, I’ll send someone to help you out right away.”

“Y-yes. Th-thank...you.”

Sujin inhaled heavily, trying to pace her breathing, but it wasn’t really working: she devolved into hyperventilating within seconds. Sliding down to the floor, she slumped over and reached into her purse with trembling fingers.

She fumbled with her phone but managed to pull it out, unlock it, and maneuver to Yoongi’s contact details. She almost called him, but then she remembered that she was meeting Yumi and thought she should let her know about the delay.

“Hey Sujin! Are you almost here?” Yumi’s cheerful voice flooded into her ear and slightly calmed her, but Sujin could still feel the panic rising in her chest like a wave, making it more difficult to breathe.

“Hey...Yumi. I’m in the—the elevator.”

“What? Sujin! Why didn’t you just take the stairs!” Sujin hated making Yumi so worried.

“I...I’m stuck. In the...elevator. It’s stuck. So I’m...gonna be...late.” She exhaled fitfully.

“I don’t care about that right now! Oh my god, Sujin, are you okay? Did you call for help?”

Sujin nodded, then remembered that Yumi couldn’t see her. “Yes. They’re—they’re sending s-someone. Now.”

“Okay. Okay. Just—just hold on, okay?”

“O-okay.”

“And call Yoongi, okay? As soon as we hang up, call him.”

“O...kay.”

“You’re gonna be fine, okay? I’ll see you soon. Call me as soon as you’re outta there.”

“Ok—okay.”

“Okay. I’m hanging up now. Call Yoongi!”

She was pretty much gasping for air now; everything was hazy and she was starting to feel lightheaded. She managed to call Yoongi before she slid sideways and fell on the floor, her ear squashed on top of her phone, her eyes closed so she couldn't see the walls—they looked like they were curving in towards her, straining to crush her to death.

“Sujin. What’s up? Aren’t you hanging out with Yumi today?” There was noise and laughter in the background.

As soon as his voice rolled over her, she felt a little calmer. She tried to slow down her breathing as Yoongi told her to wait for him to find someplace quiet.

“Hey, sorry. Did you need something?”

“Yoon...gi.”

“Sujin? You sound weird. What’s wrong?”

She could practically hear his frown. She would’ve laughed if she wasn’t panicking so hard.

“I’m...stuck in...the elevator.”

“Stuck? Like the doors won’t open?”

“Mm. It stopped...between...third and...fourth floors.”

“You really are a trouble magnet.”

She almost smiled.

“But why do you sound so weird? You okay?”

“I’m...claus—claustroph—phobic.”

Silence. And then: “. Oh...man. Uhhhhh, . Okay, I don’t—what do you need me to do?”

“Just...keep talk—ing...to me.”

“Okay. Okay. I got this. Uh. . Uh, Taehyung tried to prank Jin again and got punched in the face.”

Sujin laughed breathlessly. “Is he...okay?”

“Ah, you know him, he’s too healthy for his own good. He’s an idiot so he doesn’t get sick, so he at least has to get hurt every now and then so he doesn’t get too reckless.”

She smiled and hummed tiredly, unable to summon the strength to do more. Her breath was quick and shallow.

“Sujin? Hey, you okay?”

“Ti—red...”

“Hey, hey, don’t fall asleep on me now. Am I that boring?” His words were joking but his voice was too tense. She could tell he was really worried.

“Hey, you said you’re stuck between the third and fourth floors right? And you’re at the mall?”

“Mm...don’t...come...”

“ that, I’m almost there.”

“The boys...”

“I’ll see them later. You’re more important anyway.”

“Love...you...Yoon...gi...”

“Sujin! God, I love you too, but don’t you ing dare pass out on me!”

She didn’t reply. She was only half-conscious at this point; she felt detached from her limbs and her chest throbbed numbly. She didn’t even notice when the elevator jolted and and began moving up again, dinging open at the fourth floor. She heard everything through a fog.

“Hello—miss? Miss, are you alright? Miss!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I think she’s fainted!”

“What? Get her out, quickly!”

Sujin felt like she was floating. It was dark and indistinct sounds passed by in clouds or noise. She was both peaceful and sharply uncomfortable.

“Sujin!”

Her lips curled up unconsciously at the sound of Yoongi’s urgent voice. She was too tired to open her eyes or reach out to him.

“Yoon...gi,” she whispered almost soundlessly as he kept shouting her name, his voice growing steadily louder. Every yell of her name tugged at her mind until finally he was there, familiar arms engulfing her against a familiar chest, and she remembered faintly what had happened.

“I’m here, Sujin, I’m here.”

Slowly, her breathing evened out and her mind cleared, though she still felt unsteady. She stumbled to her feet, her fingers scrambling for purchase in Yoongi’s clothes. He allowed her to stand, though he still carried most of her weight.

“ Sujin, why didn’t you ever tell me about this?” he muttered into her ear angrily. That was bad; she didn’t want him to be angry.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured faintly, still waiting for her balance to kick back into gear. “I forgot...and it never came up...in conversation.”

“God, Sujin,” he exhaled and hugged her tight. “You scared the outta me. You are never taking the elevator again, I swear to god.”

“But I wanna get over my claustrophobia,” she pouted as she pulled away and blinked vigorously.

“Excuse me,” someone interjected. It was one of the workers who had helped her out of the elevator. “Are you alright, miss?”

Sujin nodded gratefully. “Yes, thank you so much for your help.”

“We are so sorry for what happened.” He bowed deeply.

“Oh no, it’s not your fault!” Yoongi scoffed behind her and she turned a weak glare on him. “It’s not. Nothing’s perfect. I’m alright now thanks to your quick response.”

He bowed again. “I’m glad you’re not hurt. Please enjoy the rest of your time here.”

The workers left and Sujin turned back to Yoongi, who still looked immensely dissatisfied.

“I can’t believe you never told me something this important,” he grumbled.

Sujin sighed and pulled out her phone. “It’s not something I can just say in casual conversation. Besides, it’s usually not a problem.” She dialed Yumi’s number.

“Sujin! Are you out? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I got out and I’m fine. I’m on the fourth floor.”

“I’ll be right there!”

“Okay, see you soon. Yoongi’s here too.”

Sujin knew Yumi was rolling her eyes. “Ugh, why. I guess I can tolerate him for a few minutes. The things I do for you, honestly.” Then she hung up abruptly.

“Yumi?” Yoongi asked knowingly.

Sujin nodded. “She’ll be here soon.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes. Sujin just didn’t understand why two of the most important people in her life disliked each other so much.

“You’re not...mad, are you? That I didn’t tell you.” She bit her lip worriedly.

He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “No. But you should’ve told me.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I really just didn’t think of it.”

He looked at her and sighed again, before pulling her back into his arms and kissing her shoulder. “God, Sujin.”

She snuggled happily into him. “Thank you, Yoongi. For talking to me the whole time.”

He just smiled and kissed her.

(That was, of course, the exact moment that Yumi walked in and very loudly yelled in disgust.)

notes: OK REQUESTS COMING UP NEXT.

Sooooo basically I mentioned the claustrophobia thing once at the very beginning of CCT and never referenced it again. I personally do not have claustrophobia and I also don't know exactly how panic attacks work, so I apologize sincerely if I portrayed something grossly incorrectly.

One of the reasons I thought of writing this is because I realized that when I write about TwoSu, a lot of the time it's Sujin "saving" Yoongi. Does that make sense? Like, it's always about how Yoongi is so lucky to know her, how she calms him down, etc etc. But that makes it seem like their relationship is so onesided and it's really not. Sujin is just as lucky to know him, and he affects her in similar ways. They've each changed the other for the better in different ways, but it's very much a two-way street. I just wanted to be clear about this cuz I don't think I have been lmao.

Something I learned from my research: it's not actually possible for you to pass out or suffocate during a panic attack. You might feel like you will, but you physically cannot. Seems like a good thing to know, just in case.

Title from a translation of a Chinese song! It was part of the OST for the drama "Bull Fighting" lol which I watched soooooo long ago. (It was an ok drama, if you're curious; very generic.) It's a catchy song and I like the calmness of it. :) Enjoy!

OH while I was searching for chapter images, I found this gorgeous, completely relevant quote by Rumi (whom I LOVE): "Seeing you heals me." YES OK THAT IS TWOSU IN 4 WORDS OK I WANT A LOVE LIKE THIS OMF GIMME also it is really freaking hard to find a simple picture of an elevator??? Like why???

skyblaze208, OUT!

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