Can you hear me? - Taekook short story

Part 3

Chanyeoul sat beside Tae on the bed, rubbing his hair to calm down the boy. Deciding to at last try, he cleared his throat. "Bear? I ran into Jimin yesterday" Tae did not reply, just kept his eyes shut. Taking that as que to continue, Chanyeoul started telling Tae about what Jimin said. Finally, looking at Tae, he saw tears coming from beneath his long eyelashes. "Bear, why don't you just talk to him, clear the air, then move on if you want, or give him a chance. Your other friends miss you so much, Jimin was crying the whole time" Tae didn't answer, he did not have the strength to even think about anything, he was just wasting his time thinking he will be picked for the procedure, he has basically no hearing anymore, the implant too damaged and the hit against his head that day caused further damage to the ear that still had some hearing. He was just tired, he wants to give up, there was no reason for him to live anymore. Seeing he will not get an answer, Channie just kept on rubbing Tae's hair until the blond finally fell asleep, tear stains on his fallen in cheeks.

Another week passed, Tae was sitting with granny at the table late in the afternoon, she was doing crosswords, he was working a project. Tae's cell phone rang, the vibration startling him. He answered the call from the unknown number, putting the phone on speaker. "Mr Kim Taehyung? This is Dr Kai, we spoke about the new procedure to fix you hearing 6 months ago. " "Yes Dr, I remember well" "Mr Kim, we are doing the procedures in Seoul hospital tomorrow, will you be ready?" And Tae's heart sank into his shoes, he will not be in time, he had no way to get to Seoul. Seeing his face, granny decided to take over "Dr Kai, this is Mrs Kim, Tae's granny. He is currently in Daegu with me, he had a small accident and is recuperating here. Is there another date so he can go to Seoul as soon as possible?" "I am sorry to hear that, it is not a problem, I am visiting Daegu on Friday, so we will do the procedure then at Daegu Hospital. So relax, Taehyung, Friday I will see you at 11h00, at the hospital. Just go to the surgeon's rooms, I will meet you there" "Thank you Dr Kai, thank you so much!!" Ending the call, Tae cried in Granny's lap, he was going to hear properly again, he was so happy. They immediately phoned Chanyeoul who said he will make sure to be back in Korea early Friday morning, then he should be in Daegu by lunchtime and will be there when Tae wakes up after the operation. Tae was super excited, just 3 days. He was happy, but his heart hurt as well, he was supposed to celebrate this with Jungkook, it was their dream to get Tae's hearing fixed. Drying his tears, he knew he needs to do this for himself, there is no more us in his life, just him.

Yoongi finally struck gold when he saw Chayeoul's name on a flight from the USA that lands in Seoul on Friday morning 5h00.

The night before the procedure, Tae realised that he suddenly there was no sound, he did not hear the light switch, he did not hear the bath water, nothing, just a hum, no sound, and he knew the implant finally failed. Will it be too late then for him? He screamed and cried, and he could not calm down, until his voice failed, and he just sobbed. Even after that, he could not sleep, his head hurt so bad where the implant was, and his ear as well, and he didn't know why. Coupled with the stress and him not eating properly, it was no wonder that when he got up to drink water just after 4h00 on the Friday morning, that he collapsed in a heap on the floor, his head hitting the tiles with a thump. Granny heard the sound and was up, finding Tae unconscious, blood coming out of his one ear. The ambulance was there in a few minutes, taking him straight to the ER, Granny in the ambulance, giving them details about Tae's condition and medical history.

All of them went to the airport to wait for Chanyeoul,hoping to get some kind of help from him. When Chanyeoul walked into theairport he was met with 6 men, waiting anxiously. "Hi Chanyeoul, these are allTae's friend, Jin, Namjoon, Hobi, Yoongi and....Jungkook" Jimin introduced them.Chanyeoul looked at Jungkook, seeing the defeated shoulders and the lost eyes.He saw a guilt-ridden man, and suddenly felt a tiny bit sorry for him. "You werethe man I saw with Tae.. "Before getting a chance to speak, Chanyeoul's phonerang. "Chanyeoul..." they all looked at him, seeing his face turning white. "Iam on my way!" He grabbed his bags and started running, leaving the othersconfused, but then following him in a hurry.