PARK JIMIN, CHIEF OF SURGERY. The nametag on the door spelt out in bold capital letters.

What am I doing here? Taehyung questioned himself. The distinguished status on the nametag just made him feel small.

I should just leave. Taehyung sighed inwardly and started to walk away, tugging up the strap of his backpack that felt so heavy upon his shoulders. But that didn't explain why he felt a sinking feeling in his gut. Just as he shuffled away with leaden feet, he was sure he heard a low groan from inside the room and the muffled sound of something hitting the floor. Something or someone, Taehyung didn't wait too long to find out. 

His hand froze on the doorknob he had instinctively reached forward to turn, because a disaster zone welcomed him.

Files were scattered everywhere, documents strewn all over the foot of a desk like someone had delivered one vindictive sweep to every item on it, medical degrees decorating the rest of the floor in exquisite broken frames, an overturned chair on one end, a smashed up keyboard on another.

Meanwhile the person responsible for the wreckage was hugging his head, sprawled over the floor.

"Jimin." Taehyung surged forward to raise Jimin's chin, battling the defensive arms that swatted around on having his drunken stupor disturbed.

"You were DRINKING???" Taehyung tilt his head backwards disapprovingly as soon as he smelt the alcohol on Jimin's breath.

Jimin's eyes could barely stay open, but he smiled at Taehyung's presence as his head dropped back to the floor.

"You came." Jimin's lips curved up in contrast to his general stillness. As if that would suffice for everything there was to say.

Why is this idiot smiling like he's on Cloud 9. Taehyung couldn't help but wonder if it was just the alcohol. He glanced around the room, and when he spotted a bottle of prescriptive medicine popped open and spilling over a few remaining pills upon the carpet near Jimin's feet, he felt sick in his stomach.

"JIMIN." Taehyung shook Jimin's shoulders with an urgent plea. "WHAT DID YOU DO. LOOK AT ME."

Jimin's eyelashes flickered, and he peered up at Taehyung like he was only half aware of his situation.

"You're too much." Jimin had a sleepy slur in his voice. "Why do you only want to see me now? When I'm at my worst."

He squeezed his eyes shut again and a tear rolled out from the corner, but still he acted like he was delirious and couldn't stop smiling no matter how the smile was laced with bitterness.

"야 YA." Taehyung was now yelling at him on the verge of breakdown. "DID YOU DO SOMETHING STUPID?? HOW MANY PILLS DID YOU TAKE???"

Jimin lifted his eyes at Taehyung in surprise, for he hadn't expected to frighten Taehyung so badly that his face was drained of color. His heart wrenched and he wished to draw Taehyung into an embrace but he was just stunned and confused.

"What-? Wait, no- It's not like that—"

"I'm gonna get you help right now. You stay awake, you hear me?" Taehyung pressed a shaky hand over Jimin's in an attempt to reassure him, and Jimin was reminded of their first meeting when their roles had been reversed.

Jimin's hand reached up and almost failed to hold Taehyung back in his anxiousness to make a beeline for the door.

"Tae— Don't go. Please." Jimin had a weak hand placed over Taehyung's outward facing shoulder, and it was mostly Jimin's beseeching voice that stalled him instead. "I'm fine, sorry if I scared you. It was just 3 pills, I swear."

Taehyung took a moment of silence to process this, and then he was just ashamed that he had jumped to conclusions and over-reacted again. His shoulders slumped, and he was honestly tired of caring.

"You're really something. Mixing pills with alcohol."  Taehyung muttered drily, half-angry.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry to me. If you must get high, there are other kinds of pills for that."

"I didn't mix them to get high." 

"Then couldn't you have gone for water instead?"

"That wouldn't help with the sedation."

"What were you taking."

"Antidepressants."

Taehyung clasped Jimin's hand that latched on his shoulder and he turned around to receive quietly entreating Jimin, who had pressed against him like the last standing support he had left. Jimin bowed his head over Taehyung's shoulder, and this time Taehyung did not push him away. There was something close to his heart about the way Jimin cried like he had been stifling his emotions for a long time. Because afterall, what are tears good for? Nobody needs them.

But in this moment, Taehyung wanted to be needed as a shoulder to cry on.

"바보 Pabo." Taehyung called out softly, and Jimin's hunched frame could be seen quivering with a spot of laughter through his tears.

_______

Author's Note A/N:

Wow, had a hugeee writer's block at first, but now I'm happy with this, because all my soft VMIN feels just floated onto my palm like a feather and I knew what to write. I hope you like it. Let me know :)