courage [yoonkook]

r

The infirmary always smelt faintly of coconut oil. It was the only way Yoongi convinced himself not to panic. The ceiling was pale blue and a fan droned loudly right above him. Three curtains surrounded the hospital bed, cutting him off from the rest of the world, leaving him truly alone.

He let out a deep breath.

"Yoongi-hyung?"

"Jungkook?"

It was him, unmistakably. His voice was withered and cold, breathy and sharp and held a pain that Yoongi couldn't fathom.

He mustered enough strength to sit up and pull one of the curtains just enough so that he could see Jungkook. His injuries were worse than he expected. The wound was cleaned and bandaged but it definitely seemed like he'd need stitches. His skin has lost all its colour and his lips were cracked and had turned a nasty shade of blue. His eyes were glassy and distant, thinking.

"Hyung... thank you so much."

Yoongi blinked twice, looked away, out of his window and sighed. "Thank you too."

It seemed that Jungkook didn't hear that or ignored it because he continued, "Why did you save me? I'm thankful, don't get me wrong, it's just that... I'm a complete stranger."

"You're not. You and I both know that we're not strangers. And regardless," he looked Jungkook straight in the eye with a fiery gaze before he continued, "I wouldn't leave anyone behind like that, especially you."

Jungkook bit his lip. "Hyun-"

A nurse pulled back the front curtain. "Yoongi! You're up. Head to Ms. Choi, will you? She's got some medicine for you to take before you eat."

Yoongi left without another word, a feeling of pure unsettlement burning in his chest.

Similarly, Jungkook lay back into the mattress with a heavy sigh. He felt cogs turn in his brain faster than he could comprehend and his stomach began to churn. He thanked the nurse for the painkiller quietly and swallowed; the pill lodging in his throat for a scary second then going down smoothly, settling in the pits of his soul.

Flames arose in his head, faint sirens, the thin air of spring and two pale faces, one drenched in blood and the other in fear. The flames were strong and brutish, devouring and relentless; the sirens did not sound worried - only tired and sick; the thin air was piercing and dark and for the life of him, Jungkook did not want to relive seeing those two faces, the one drenched in blood and the other drenched in fear because he finally recognised one of them.

And it haunted him.

-

Yoongi sat outside the infirmary in a waiting-type room, eating a sandwich quietly. He felt tears prick his eyes but he didn't know why. He was sure that Jungkook was the boy now so why wasn't he happy? He should be happy.

But he just wasn't.

He was lost.

His thoughts weren't coherent - all of the questions were unanswerable, vague and unnecessary. People moved about around him but he paid no attention to it; how could he, when he'd just found the person who saved his life?

"Yoongi? Why are you still here?" a nurse asked. "Go to your dorm, it's getting late."

He nodded absentmindedly, discarded the remains of his sandwich and stood. The nurse was about to leave but Yoongi called out to her before she opened the door.

"Can you tell me when Jungkook gets better?"

The nurse smiled softly. "Sure."

-

Time passed. Jungkook was still bedridden and over the two months that had flown by, Yugyeom and BamBam made it their job to bring him his school work. They'd sit next to him and watch him wrack his lethargic brain for answers. They shared pained looks when Jungkook wasn't looking; they wanted to do anything they could to help but they simply weren't close enough to him. They didn't know what to say or how to say it.

"Jungkook..." Yugyeom had started one evening. "Should we call someone? Like a family member?"

He shook his head. "No, it's alright. I'm an orphan anyways."

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"Calm the hell down, it's alright," Jungkook said, smiling. "It's been a while too."

BamBam put a hand on Jungkook's shoulder. "But is there anyone we can call?"

He thought for a short while. "Yoongi-hyung."

The two hugged him tightly and went off to find Yoongi.

Throughout the two months that Jungkook was in the infirmary, Yoongi had started to eat properly again. Everyone was glad that he was; he'd always looked too sick. Jin had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with Jungkook being hospitalised but he kept his mouth shut.

But it was sad that he only ate because Jungkook would want him to. Yoongi was strong enough to take care of himself it was just that he didn't want to.

The nurse was updating Yoongi as well. He never visited because he was so unsure of himself but he made sure to keep tabs on Jungkook's health. He grew happier every time the nurse told him that Jungkook was doing well, he was fighting and that he was getting better. He also noticed that Jungkook's friends constantly went to visit him. He was content knowing that Jungkook had some company and wasn't alone.

He was in the main hall when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Yugyeom and... BamBam, right?"

The pair nodded. Yugyeom gestured for them to step outside the hall so they could speak without interruption. Namjoon looked up from the table, confused, but Yoongi gave him a quick dismissive wave. Just outside the hall, BamBam said, "Jungkook wants to see you."

Yoongi went pale. "H-he does?"

The two nodded again.

"O-okay."

Before Yoongi could move, Yugyeom said quickly, "I think he misses you."

Yoongi scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ah, I guess I better go then."

The two smiled and went back into the hall, leaving Yoongi outside, alone. His heart dropped a little, looking in the direction of the infirmary. If he'd just had a little something...

Then perhaps-

No. It wasn't his fault.

He walked to the infirmary, breath soft and cold. He pushed the doors open, trudged past the waiting room and into the wards, his hands trembling and knees weak.

"Hyung."

"Hey, Jungkook. How've you been?"