breathing flowers。yoonseok

three

taehyung was the first one to found him.

he found yoongi when he came home one night and locked himself in the bathroom, lying on the floor with petals surrounding him. there were pink petals on the sink, on the tub, and in the toilet—just everywhere. yoongi watched as the younger entered the bathroom and jumped, clamping a hand over his mouth in shock and stuttering a low, muffled hyung before approaching the elder.

yoongi stared blankly at the ceiling when taehyung knelt down next to him, hands trembling as he picked up the petals in confusion. the day came, and yoongi was glad that taehyung was the first one to find him.

taehyung cradled him carefully, and yoongi looked at him.

"don't tell anyone," yoongi hissed, voice raw and raspy, but he clung to taehyung like his world was crumbling. it hurt to speak, but yoongi had to. "promise me, taehyung."

taehyung furrowed his eyebrows together and pressed his lips into a thin line when yoongi coughed roughly. he held the older tightly onto his chest and nodded. "okay, hyung. i'll—i'll carry you, okay? everyone went out except for me, so i think it's safe."

with a shaky breath, taehyung hooked his other arm under yoongi's legs and carefully stood up. yoongi wrapped an arm around taehyung's shoulder and he groaned, head rolling back and eyes closing as he felt the sudden shift of gravity. he was feeling lightheaded and nauseous; he was surprised that he hadn't emptied his stomach after all of the puking of pink petals for an hour again.

taehyung walked inside his and jimin's shared room, laying the older on his bed and leaving the room to only come back with a glass of water on his hand. yoongi accepted it, trembling slightly as he brought the rim of the cup to his chapped lips. taehyung watched him helplessly and he took in the weak state yoongi was in.

the older was looking pale than ever, a thin layer of sweat glistening on his forehead and heavy bags under his eyes; taehyung wondered how long it has been ever since the disease began.

after yoongi drank all the water, taehyung grabbed it in fear of it slipping out of the older's hand and shattering, then he placed on it on the carpeted floor. silence fell upon them, and honestly, taehyung just wanted to sleep, but he thought of the words to say to yoongi.

then he breathed, meeting yoongi's gaze. "who is it?"

yoongi was silent for a moment, then chuckled weakly. "so you know this disease, huh."

"my friend had it," taehyung explained. "and he—he went under surgery to stop the flowers from growing in his lungs, but hyung, who is it?"

yoongi's lower lip trembled, and he looked away from taehyung, setting his eyes on the printed blanket before looking up at the ceiling. "hoseok."

taehyung nodded, then told to yoongi to sleep, but not before promising the older that he wouldn't speak a word to the others. yoongi smiled, sinking down in taehyung's bed to invite the deep slumber that's waiting for him, although his throat was itching.

taehyung stood there for a minute, not knowing what to do. then he remembered the petals back in the bathroom, making him glance at the clock by his bed stand quickly. the others would be home in forty minutes, and he bolted out of the room, grabbed two trash bags, and he cleaned up the petals in the bathroom quickly.

it was probably the quickest thing he had done in his life, but it was for his yoongi. poor yoongi was suffering an unrequited love and in pain while everyone was completely oblivious of it. taehyung sighed, wiping the sweat breaking out on his forehead while looking at the trash bags. all he had to do now was to throw it away, and he exactly got twenty minutes to do it.

after throwing the trash bags and checking up on yoongi, he went to the bathroom to make sure that nothing was left behind or looked suspicious. taehyung settled on the couch, letting out a sigh and running his hand through his hair.

the petals were exactly like the ones hoseok had told everyone about after yoongi had disappeared. and taehyung honestly don't know what to do except sleeping on the couch until seokjin woke him up.