𝓑𝓮𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓬𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓼

#7

Unknown Era

Seokjin's POV

If we could turn back the clock

Where should we go back to?

Once we reach that place,

Can all our mistakes and errors be undone?

***

I was too late for him, Jin thought. If I could have somehow saw this coming...

The day after Hoseok committed suicide, Jin had received the dreaded call early in the melancholy morning. It echoed in his room like a death cry.

"Yes?" Jin stammered, half awake half asleep.

"Hello, Doctor Seokjin. I'm calling to inform you about the situation with your friend and his sister..." The lady's voice sounded robotic on the receiver - Jin was completely awake now, his eyes as wide as golf balls.

"I'll be there in five minutes." Jin snapped, quickly hanging up before throwing on his overalls.

***

When Seokjin arrived at the hospital, he was in sheer panic - his heart hammering in his rib cage and his breathing heavy. Jin carelessly parked the car, leaving the door open and the engine still growling away behind him.

Sprinting towards the intensive care department, patients looked at him, concerned as he was a well-known doctor. Jin ignored every stare and shout, putting everything he had for this last chase.

When Seokjin arrived, the robotic receptionist quickly brought him into a clean, green room, where Hoseok was sprawled out upon a hospital bed, linked up to life support and barely breathing.

Somebody was holding Hope's hand. Jimin sat beside Hoseok, tears streaming down his pretty face. When Jimin saw Seokjin, he smiled slightly - as he had not seen his friend for years.

Jin began a heated conversation with the receptionist, asking about what procedures had been done to help JHope, the situation, etc.

Hoseok's heartbeat, slow and miniscule beforehand, began to speed up dangerously at the sound of the heated discussion. JHope hated to hear Jin upset.

Seokjin was too busy arguing with the receptionist to notice, pointing his finger in her face and yelling. Jimin screamed at them, looking back and forth from them to Hope as his heart rate reached its peak.

Suddenly, the monotone cry of the machine fizzled through the air. Jimin sat there in shock, a flood of tears streaming down his handsome face. Jin glanced back at the machine, dread filling his gut. The receptionist stared at them all blankly before leaving the room to get more doctors, who rushed in after a moment or two.

Seokjin had already began CPR on Hoseok's lifeless body, carrying out thirty beats and two breaths. When another doctor tried to take over, Jin slapped them before continuing.

It's not working, Jin thought. Why isn't it working?

Head doctors were talking behind him. "Cardiac arrest, we need a blood transfusion and a defibrillator in here."

Hands grabbed at Jin from behind, pulling him from JHope's body. Seokjin fought against them, punching them as Jimin watched in horror from the side.

The head doctor had stripped off Hoseok's shirt, pressing the two pads of the defibrillator to his chest.

"Stand clear," he ordered and the room went silent. Jin watched, motionless as another doctor held him back.

Hoseok's body tensed up, rising into the air slightly as the energy flowed through him, attempting to restart his heart. The machine still echoed that horrible ghostly noise.

The head doctor, blond hair stuck to his head from sweat, readjusted the pads slightly before repeating the procedure.

"Stand by." He ordered professionally, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

One last chance to bring him back.

Hoseok's body tensed again, and suddenly the room was filled with suspense and silence. The only sound was the dead weight of the heart machine, reflecting how their best friend had moved on to another life.

***

I failed him, Jin thought. It's all my fault. If I had been there to stop him, to help him, maybe he wouldn't have done it, maybe... All these negative thoughts spun round his head like a whirlwind, he couldn't help ignoring Jimin who was beside him, trying to comfort him while Jiminie himself fell apart inside.

They visited Hoseok's sister that day, she seemed to be recovering, but wouldn't wake for a few days more, Jin suspected. He adjusted her fluids before heading home with Jimin, filled with grief that swallowed him up.

That night, Jimin and Jin comforted each other on the sofa as they watched Korean dramas, eyes swollen and tearful as they grieved the death of their friend. They fell asleep in each other's arms, crying and sobbing and grieving in its rawest form. They hadn't spoke for years, however it was as if they had never been apart.

***

End of part 1