Chapter 5

Sixteen years

Kim Taehyung was shocked beyond words. Well not exactly shocked per se but a bit… well, dumbfounded. Why? Well, because he was called out to the roof of the school during lunch by one of the popular kids only to have him bombarded with a strange yet not very new question.

“So can I take you out some time? Maybe this Saturday?” he heard the school star ask him. Taehyung felt his face twitch in awkwardness. Why the hell was the school’s basketball captain asking him out?

“Are you asking me out?” Taehyung had to make sure. “Yes?” the male in front of him said, suddenly not sure of himself anymore.

“Oh,” Taehyung said bluntly. “I’m sorry, uhhh,” Taehyung began but completely forgot the name.

“Jackson,” the person said.

“Jackson,” Taehyung quickly added. “I can’t. I have prior engagements and honestly speaking I already have someone I like. So, yeah,” he said awkwardly, hoping the person in front of him would say something like ‘Oh, okay. I understand. Maybe we can be friends?’

But those were Jackson’s exact opposite words. “Are you kidding me?” he heard the basketball captain say. “You can’t reject me.”

Taehyung felt all the more awkward. And maybe a little annoyed. Didn’t he just do that? How egoistic could the person get?

“Why not?” Taehyung decided to amuse himself. “Well, because I’m the school basketball captain,” Jackson replied shamelessly. Okay, Taehyung, time to leave this weirdo alone, the chocolate haired boy thought and left the roof without so much as a “bye”. What could he do? He was feeling weird around that self proclaimed prince charming on a white horse and truthfully, he wanted to punch him right in the face.

Taehyung reached home fairly early to see that ‘his Kookie’ was already in the garden under their favorite tree. As usual, he had a book and pencil in his hands and beside him were some colored papers. Without changing his uniform, he just sat down beside the boy and wished him a good afternoon.

Jungkook didn’t reply. But he gave a shy smile. That was more than enough for Taehyung.

Besides his stagnant heart condition, Jungkook’s illnesses were decreasing. He hadn’t had a panic attack in about two months and he was also socializing fairly well with the other children in the orphanage. It might not be true but Taehyung wanted to believe he had something to do with it. His improvement gave newfound joy to many people but it didn’t compare to Taehyung’s joy.

Like always, Taehyung spoke about his school even though he didn’t mind that Jungkook wasn’t listening. And with every passing minute, he folded different types of toys using the colored paper. But like every day, he always left out one red paper to fold it into a paper plane.

Because red is Jungkook’s favorite color and he likes planes the most, he thought and folded the last piece of paper into a desired shape.

“Something funny happened in school today,” Taehyung said referring to Jackson’s self centered confession to him. Jungkook turned to the older, seeming to pay attention. “I was asked out on a date by the school’s basketball captain. Funny, right?” Taehyung smiled and continued.

Jungkook couldn’t comprehend exactly what his hyung was trying to say but when he saw him smile, he simply nodded. But he understood the part where a guy came to annoy him. And he didn’t like it. He didn’t want anyone bothering his hyung.

Then a light cough escaped his lips.

Taehyung didn’t think it was anything serious so he handed Jungkook the finished toys. The younger accepted with excitement and separated the folded flowers with the other toys.

Another cough.

Placing the flowers clumsily on Taehyung’s hair, he began to hum a song. It was Taehyung’s favorite song, Taehyung noticed. Jungkook must’ve learnt it because he would always play it to Jungkook. And Taehyung never realized before but Jungkook had an equally beautiful singing voice. It was a little husky but at the same time it was soft and kind of heart-warming. Taehyung closed his eyes and allowed Jungkook to continue to play with his hair.

Suddenly the tuneful humming turned to a series of heavy coughs.

Alarmed, Taehyung turned to the black haired boy and asked if he was alright. But Jungkook couldn’t answer. He was too busy coughing his lungs out.

“Jungkook?” Taehyung said and held him in his arms. “It’s getting cold,” he said, “let’s get you inside.” Jungkook could only nod weakly. And that evening, they left their art supplies and origami toys out in the garden.

“Is he alright, dad?” Taehyung asked worriedly the next day. Mr. Kim nodded. “He’s fine. Yesterday was probably because of pollen allergies or something. But to be sure, I’ll call his doctor over tomorrow.” Taehyung could only nod.

The chocolate haired boy sat under their special tree that evening, waiting for Jungkook’s doctor to complete the check up. What if Jungkook suddenly got worse? What if Jungkook was dying anytime soon?

He gritted his teeth and ruffled his own hair. Why must he always concentrate on only the dark side of things? Jungkook was going to be fine and they would be back to normal. Boy was he wrong.

That night, Taehyung decided to wait in Jungkook’s room till he fell asleep. His parents weren’t exactly glad about it but he promised that he would get proper rest so they agreed to it. Sometimes, he admired his parents for always tolerating his selfish and childish needs.

The clock struck eleven o’ clock. Taehyung’s eyelids were getting heavier by the second. Yes, he promised his parents to return early but how could he when Jungkook was just there, looking more adorable than an infant? Besides, his house was just a few meters from the clinic. So his parents wouldn’t mind if he spent the night at the clinic, again.

Taehyung must’ve dozed off because he was suddenly awakened by Jungkook’s screams. Jungkook was thrashing about in his bed, looking frightened and terrified.

“Jungkook, Jungkook,” Taehyung tried but he wouldn’t listen. He thrashed and clawed away at the air and even laid a deep scratch on Taehyung’s face. Then Taehyung noticed that the struggling male was suddenly clutching his chest. This isn’t a panic attack, a tiny voice said in his mind.

“Hyung!” Taehyung immediately called out. “JIN HYUNG!”

A minor heart attack. That was what he overheard his father say to his mother and the other doctors. From what he heard, the doctor would be there the next morning to check up on Jungkook again. Heart attack. Heart attack. Heart attack. The words repeated over and over again in Taehyung’s head. Why did it have to be a heart attack? Wasn’t Jungkook suffering enough already?

“You should get that looked at,” Mrs. Kim said, startling his son. She was referring to his son’s now bleeding cheek. “Come on,” she said and led him to another room.

“Does it hurt?” she asked and peeled a band aid and pasted it on the wound. Taehyung shook his head. It did hurt but it didn’t mean a thing. Noticing that she wouldn’t be able to get anything more out of her son, she advised him to get rest. “You have school tomorrow,” she said. Her son simply nodded and walked out of the door after thanking her.

Taehyung heard his heart crack the next evening when he heard that Jungkook didn’t want to see him. “What do you mean he doesn’t want to see me?” he asked Jin who was outside Jungkook’s room, standing guard.

Jin sighed sadly. “He knows he hurt your face,” Jin began when Taehyung interrupted. “But he didn’t do it on purpose! Just let…”

“Taehyung!” he heard a deep voice from the back. No doubt it was his father.

“Taehyung,” his father began, letting him sit on the guests’ seat in his office. “How would you feel if you woke up one night and found out that you had just attacked your best friend in your sleep and injured him?” his father said bluntly. Taehyung didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. He had a vague idea on how Jungkook would be feeling.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. His father turned soft. “Look it’s probably just a phase. Give it some time and explain it to him properly. But give him time,” he asserted. Taehyung nodded silently. His father was making perfect sense.

And so, a week passed. But Jungkook still refused to look at Taehyung. And it was beginning to break Taehyung’s miserable heart into even smaller pieces. 

A/N:

Hi!!!

Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than others... But, i think the next one will be long. I have a pretty good feeling about it... Woohoo!!!

Also, a big THANK YOU to the new subscribers and comments... Loving you indefinitely.

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