Alive

Taehyung looks at the room around him. All white and sad.

He is standing there and simply observing. He finds it funny, how no one can see him but he can see everything. The doctors gathered around the white table, his motionless body resting there. Their unsuccessful efforts to keep him alive.

He walks through the door to the next room which is a waiting area. His mother is there, crying with her hands covering her face. Taehyung doesn't feel particularly sorry or sad seeing her like that. He knows in a few hours she will be gone with another man anyway, and she will already have forgotten about him, just like all those times when he had to spend the cold night alone with his fear of the dark.

He is always alone in their big house. His mother barely ever comes home, when she does it is only for a short time. His father abandoned them years ago, choosing to start a new life instead of taking care of their family, and they never saw him ever again. Taehyung doesn't have any friends either since he isn't allowed to leave their house. A private tutor instead of school, silence instead of friends, a cold house instead of the world. He is lonely and sad as an unloved child can be.

He continues walking through the white hallways of the hospital, observing people. There is an old man sitting alone, his eyes filled with water and fixed on the colorless wall. He is holding a teddy bear in his hands, his grip on it so tight that Taehyung can feel his pain. He must be waiting for someone to come out of the operation room, too.

Taehyung sees many doctors and nurses running around, giving instructions and information about the patients, trying to save lives. There are also many parents waiting anxiously, many sisters, brothers, children and friends. And always more people coming through the entrance door, waiting for their injuries to be healed.

The boy looks at all these people. Everyone is so unhappy. Everything is so sad.

He overhears fragments of a nurse and a doctor's conversation when he walks closer to them. They are talking about him. About his accident. They mention a risky operation, followed by a question Taehyung doesn't quite hear.

- Yes, a child in both cars.

- And the adults ?

- None of them were injured, only the kids.

- What is their current state ?

- We sent them in already, we are now waiting for the results but...

They continue speaking but Taehyung stops paying attention to them, only one thought occupying his mind. There is someone else?

The curious child heads back to the first room where his body lies and notices that there is indeed another person being operated beside him, another motionless body that he had not seen before. He comes closer and looks at it. It's a boy that looks the same age as him, his hair is black, but he doesn't know the color of his eyes since they are closed.

''Oh, you passed away too.'' He says quietly for himself.

He observes the soft features of the sleeping face, searching for a sign, a movement to prove that it is still alive.

''We did?'' A sweet voice answers him. ''It's a strange feeling.''

Taehyung was not expecting an answer. Suprised, he turns around and looks at the person who spoke. He knows immediatly that this boy is like him, that he can see but cannot be seen. He has black hair. And his eyes are of a beautiful brown. The other continues speaking.

''We're invisible, aren't we?'' He touches the edge of an object with his pale hand and it goes right through it. He can't touch things from the real world.

''And we can't do anything. It's a bit scary.'' The boy adds with a sad look in his eyes.

Taehyung observes the boy in front of him while he talks about their situation.

Actually, he disagrees.

''Living is cold and it's scary.'' He also tries to touch something near him and doesn't meet any resistance, his skin simply going through the object like a ghost.

''Since we can't touch things, they can't touch us either.'' He says after a moment of reflexion. ''The cold won't affect us. Neither will the fear, or the darkness. I read in a book that heaven is full of light.''

He stops for a minute, thinking some more. The other does not break his silence.

''I think dying is actually a lot less scary than it is to be alive.'' Taehyung finally says.

Their conversation fades and they stay silent, watching the doctors in the other side of the room as they are still trying to save them. On the operation tables, their eyes are still closed, as if they were sleeping. Both boys can feel a slight attraction towards their body, an indication of their soul wanting to go back, the only thin thread that still keeps them alive at this point.

''Still, I want to live.''

Taehyung looks curiously at the other boy.

''Why would you want that?''

''It's not always bad, you know. There are days when the sun shines, days when you play with your friends or when your parents buy you ice cream...''

Taehyung stops listening without even realizing it. The black-haired kid probably continues to name what he likes about life, while smiling. And that is something Taehyung has not seen in a long time, a smile. That boy's is warm and happy and for the first time in years, it makes him want to be happy, too. Taehyung decides that this is the most beautiful thing he has seen today. Forget that, the nicest thing he has seen in his life.

He realizes that the other has stopped talking and is waiting for him to say something.

''I... I've never done that.'' Taehyung manages to answer.

''Done what? Do you mean... you never had fun?''

Taehyung feels the boy's surprised eyes land on him. He simply nodds.

''I don't have anyone to do those things with. I have no friends...'' He starts, and he remembers that woman who makes him lonely and only becomes a mother when he is dying. ''...or family.''

The black-haired kid looks sad for a second but then smiles at Taehyung again, sending him a soothing wave of welfare. He reaches out, just like when adults meet and introduce themselves.

''I'm Jimin. But since you're my friend now, you can call me JimJim.''

It's the first time someone refers to him as a friend. Taehyung hesitantly takes Jimin's hand and he shakes it, like adults would do. It is warm and soft.

''I'm Taehyung. You can call me...'' He wants to have a surname too but nobody ever gave him any.

''I'll call you V, it suits you.'' his friend says after seeing his small pout.

V, it is weird but it sounds nice. Taehyung likes it.

They are interrupted when the machines connected to their bodies stop emitting regular sounds. The beeps indicating their heart rate are becoming weaker. They are really about to die now.

Jimin looks at him, a serious expression on his face.

''There's not much time left.''

Taehyung only stares back, trying to decide what he wants to do now.

''Come with me,'' his friend continues, ''and let's meet again when we're alive.''

Jimin's smile dazzles Taehyung once again. So sincere that it would protect him from everything else, from the cold and scary world. The warmth of the hand that he is still holding finally persuades him.

''We will be friends? And eat ice cream?'' He asks.

''That's right.''

For the first time, Taehyung also smiles.

Together, the boys walk towards their tangible selves. They exchange a final look before both lying on their operation table and merging with their dying bodies.

The doctors do not know what to do anymore. No matter what they try, the heart rate of their patients keeps getting slower. Too slow. They have been trying for a long time now, it is useless...

Suddenly, both hearts start functioning normally again, coincidentally at the same moment. The machines are back to their steady beeping. The doctors sigh in relief. They made it, the surgeries are a success. And the kids will live.

~~...and they were best friends forever and lived happily ever after ok sorry~~

I'm not really satisfied with how I wrote the story it was a lot better in my head :(
But since I said I would post it soon here you go ^^

The beginning has no dialogues and the rest has only dialogue I'm so sorry
Also this is so difficult because I know what I want to say but I can never find the right words in english OTL
(There are probably a ton of sentences that don't make sense in this story lmao)

Tell me your opinion cuties, every comment means so much to me and it helps me to improve <3