The exhaustion was over powering, keeping you in bed.  Your whole body aches and you know nothing can make it stop, except for that appealing eternal sleep drawing closer.  You hear the door open.  You act like you’re asleep not wanting another encounter with your family through the plastic barricade around your bed.

You hear your name, but the voice you hear is too familiar and not expected.  Your eyes shoot open.  You turn to look and find your boyfriend standing just inside the door holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

“Jungkook oppa?”

“Jagi….I….can’t believe…..I just…heard.”  He was struggling to keep his voice even.

“I honestly didn’t want you to ever have to see me like this.”  You sit up as best as you can, ignoring the pain all over your body.  “Can you come closer?  As long as you’re here, I want to be able to see you perfectly.”  Jungkook slowly shuffles closer, laying the flowers on a table close to the plastic.

“I can’t come in, can I?”  Jungkook runs his finger along the plastic, willing it to be gone.

“No.  I’m very contagious.”

Jungkook meets your eyes with a painful look on his face.  You feel your own pain double at the thought of your boyfriend being in pain too.  You had to stop it, but how?

“I wish I could be there right beside you,” Jungkook said quietly as his gaze falls to the floor, struggling to hold it together.

Screw it.

You push the blankets off your body and struggle to slide your legs off the side.  Jungkook looks up, panicked.     

“What are you doing?  Your parents said you couldn’t get out of bed.  Not only that, you shouldn’t.”  He paces a little, desperate to do something, yet totally helpless.

“I don’t care.  I want to be near you too Oppa.  And since you can’t come to me, I’ll go to you.”  With both legs hanging from the side of the bed, you measure the distance between your feet and the floor, ignoring your body’s screaming protests.  You slide your body off the bed, feet touching the cold hard surface.

You’re shaky.  You haven’t been able to stand up for days, so no wonder your knees give out from under you.  You hit the ground, feeling weak and dizzy at the effort and strain such an easy task is putting you under.

Jungkook all but screams your name from the other side of the barrier.  You look over and he’s now on his knees.  “Are you okay?” he asks.

“Don’t worry about it.  You know me, I’ve always been a klutz.  Falling is nothing new.”  You manage to give him a smile.  He scoffs.

You drag yourself over and lean up against the little dresser next to the plastic.  Jungkook crawls over to you.  He brings his face close to yours. 

There is only a six inch distance between you two, but the separation could not be further apart.  You look into each other’s eyes through the plastic, feeling more helpless than ever.  He was so close, but you couldn’t touch him.  He was right there, but he couldn’t hold you.  There could be no greater torture.  In that moment, death seemed like child’s play compared to the pain you felt as you stare at your boyfriend.

“Now I’m right beside you and I’d rather die than just sit here near you, but never with you,” you say. 

“I know, Yeobo.  I feel the same way.  I’m dying to hold you with everything in me, trying to make you forget, but I can’t even do that.”  His voice cracks.

“Oppa, I feel so alone.”

“No, Yeobo.  You’re not alone.  I’m here.  I’m not going to leave you.”  Jungkook gets as close to the plastic as he can, not touching it.  “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me.  Now close your eyes,” he whispers.  You see him raise his hand toward your face, before you let your eyes shut.

“Imagine I’m rubbing your cheek softly with my fingers.  Remember how it feels as I run them through your hair and pull you close to me.”

You try to recreate the sensation.  Jungkook’s words are like silk on your ear.  But you can’t remember.  You can’t remember how it feels to be touched and you can’t remember Jungkook’s warmth.

“I can’t remember, Oppa.”  Your eyes open again, your vision blurry as tears fill your eyes.  Jungkook’s hand is in the air, mirroring his words.

“Yes you can.  Shhh.  Calm down.  Close your eyes again and think about the day when we sat on the couch in the middle of the afternoon after the movie and you were laying on my chest.”

You close your eyes again and think about that day.  Instead of leaning on a dresser, you’re lying on Jungkook’s chest.  His heartbeat is calm and steady.

“The room is quiet.  All you can hear is my breathing.  I’ve got my hand on your side and the other is holding your hand.  I keep twisting the ring I gave you and you watch me.”

You feel the ring on your hand, tickling your skin as it twists.  Your side is warm and can feel his fingers circling, ruffling your shirt.

“I let go of your hand and gently touch your cheek, turning your head to look at me.”

The skin on your cheek prickles as you turn your head.  Jungkook is smiling down at you.

“Then I take your chin and tilt you head up.  Then I lean down and kiss you.”

Your head tilts back, before feeling warmth throughout your whole body.