ONLY YOU

8. MOONCHILD

Jin hated this waiting room. Its white unfeeling walls, the lonely sound of Jin's shoes clicking against grey tiles, the overpowering smell of disinfectant. It was all so cold. The receptionist was just as uncaring, refusing to let him into the emergency room. Jin had given up yelling at her when she had threatened to call security.

He couldn't just sit there. Not while Taehyung was... No. He needed to do something or he'd start screaming. Naturally, he busied himself. He paced back and forth while intermittently glaring at the clock that ticked the minutes tauntingly as if nothing had happened. As if one of Jin's best friends weren't lying in a hospital bed somewhere, all alone.

Checking his phone didn't help. None of the members had texted him after he'd sent a shaken Jungkook home to fill them in on what had happened. As he unlocked his phone for the tenth time he was disappointed to not even see a text from their manager. He should be on his way to sign the insurance forms and such at least.

'God, I hope everything's okay at home. What if something else has happened and that's why they're not answering.' A hundred different scenarios each worse than the last passed through Jin's stress-filled mind, making him more nervous than before. The others had all seemed fine when they'd left to go get snacks earlier, but then hadn't Taehyung? What if Jinyoung hadn't noticed one of the others was feeling unwell, just like he'd missed all the signs that Taehyung was sick?

It was an unspoken thing among the members that Jin was the one who looked after everyone. Everyone had their role in the group and Jin couldn't even fulfill his. He knew he couldn't dance like Hoseok and Jimin, his voice was nowhere near as strong as Jungkook's or Taehyung's or Jimin's, Namjoon would always be better at variety and Taehyung was undeniably the visual. They all had something to add to the group to make it successful. Looking after the members was all Jin could offer them in return.

He'd let Taehyung down. Jin had been distracted by talk of making his acting debut in an actual drama, something he'd dreamed of for years. He'd been so self-involved he didn't even notice Taehyung needed him. Jin promised himself right then and there he'd be a better friend from now on.

With this in mind, he started making his way to the desk to demand to be let in to see Taehyung. Jin was only halfway across the room when the door burst open.

He felt his tense shoulders drop in relief at seeing the one person who would make this all a little more bearable. There stood Namjoon, looking like he had just run all the way to the hospital, his face flushed and chest heaving. It took all of two seconds for his eyes to find Jin's.

"Joon?" Jinyoung would later deny that his voice cracked. It was barely above a whisper but it seemed to flick a switch within them both as Namjoon immediately ran to Jin. He couldn't help the soft sob he let out once he felt Namjoon's arms wrap around his waist. Namjoon pulled Jin in close so there was virtually no space between them, their chests pressed against each other. He let himself fall apart there in Namjoon's arms. Jin was enveloped by the smell of Namjoon's favourite shampoo, coupled with the fabric softener they all used. He could almost forget where they were if Jin kept his eyes shut tight and let his other senses be completely filled with Namjoon.

Jin was so glad Namjoon was the one who showed up. The leader's presence alone helped loosen the knot of anxiety in his chest. Everyone knew that Namjoon was the person to call when Jin was upset. Namjoon never tried to fix things with useless lies like "it'll be ok". Neither of them knew if everything really would be ok so promises like that were meaningless. Namjoon understood that. He knew what Jin needed. He just wanted someone to be there. So the older boy comforted him like that, in his own quiet way. He slowly rubbed circles in Jin's back, gently murmuring "I'm here" so low only Jin could hear. Jin tightened his own grip on Namjoon's shoulder in thanks.