STELLA SYNDROME. ✓

XI. orbit

XI.
o r b i t

━━

TAEHYUNG tossed and turned all night. he couldn't stop thinking about jungkook, jungkook and his beautiful jawline, his adorable smile, his heart-melting stare. jungkook and all the time they used to spend together before he became sick. jungkook and the way he used to goof around with him. jungkook jungkook jungkook.

then his mind took a darker turn. jungkook... happy with jimin. he loved jimin so much, taehyung could see it in his eyes. he didn't miss their simple touches. he noticed their heightened chemistry whenever they were near each other. it had always been this way before the illness, taehyung knew. he had shoved it aside because he thought he was being crazy. but in reality, those two had loved each other since jimin had first walked in the door, joining them as the seventh member.

oh god. tears pricked at the model's eyes, and he hastily swiped them away. he would just have to get over it. he would have to learn to love another. get over him. but it would be so hard... jungkook was perfect. everything he wanted and more.

taehyung rubbed his tired eyes and turned over for the fifth time, pulling the blanket over his head. he had waited to hear the sound of jimin opening the door to their apartment and tiptoeing in, but it had never arrived. he knew what this meant, and he didn't dare let his brain imagine what was happening between them. they wouldn't have sex yet, but he knew they were definitely sleeping together.

suddenly, he had the overwhelming urge to cough. the brunette ignored it for a moment, sighing and pressing his lips together. the urge only increased, and eventually it was so strong that he rolled out of bed and bolted down the hall to the toilet. did i catch a bug? he wondered, lifting the lid and emptying his stomach. after finished, he wiped his mouth and glanced down.

his hands fell from his lips to hang by his sides. he felt hollow, surprise resonating through every muscle and bone in his body. he couldn't even force a thought to his head.

five bright red flower petals swirled around inside the toilet. taehyung couldn't move. hana...haki? he couldn't believe it. it wasn't the stella syndrome, but it had killed millions of people.

the door swinging open snapped him back to reality. his eyes met yoongi's who took one look at what was inside the bowl and fell beside him. "it's okay," he said quietly, patting taehyung's shoulder, who was still in a state of shock. then he did something the younger couldn't even come close to fathoming.

the silver-haired boy leaned over the toilet and began coughing. baby blue petals slipped from yoongi's lips, landing upon the red ones. once he was done, the elder boy shut his eyes slowly before whispering, "i have it too."

━━

"HOW was last niiiiiiight?" hoseok grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at the blushing couple. "i've never done it a hospital before."

"hoseok oh my god!" seokjin smacked the back of the dancer's head and gave him a look.

"w-we didn't actually," jungkook sputtered and glanced between the members before gazing helplessly at an amused jimin. "we didn't—"

"oh hush," the leader rolled his eyes playfully. "we know you wouldn't. besides hoseok," he threw over his shoulder, "it's not like you aren't a virgin anyway."

the room erupted in oooohs, and the victim gaped at namjoon. "what the heck, joonie? you know that's not true!"

in his peripheral view, jimin watched jungkook's face bloom into that signature bunny smile he loved. his eyes were even beaming, and the blonde felt his heart melt into a puddle. even though it had only been a few days, he was looking healthier and fresher than ever. when they had awoken tangled in each other's arms that morning, the maknae had voiced how hard he was going to work to get his strength back. jimin had kissed the top of his head and told him to wait a while so he could regain his health back.

abruptly, his eyes slid to taehyung to see how he was holding up. he blinked in confusion—the boy had plastered a strained smile on his lips and was holding his stomach. his pupils kept flitted to yoongi's every once and a while, who was doing the same thing. jimin furrowed his eyebrows—what's going on? this was odd behavior to say the least.

later he would come to the conclusion that brushing this aside was the most foolish this he'd ever do.

━━

ONE, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine... he exhaled and swallowed nervously. ten; he'd counted ten petals, their alluring color popping against the clear water. red is jungkook's favorite color, he realized. and light blue for jimin.

yoongi was in love with jimin and he with jungkook. taehyung let his head fall into his hands, stifling a sob. oh, this was a mess. everything was a mess. it was his fault, and yoongi's. why couldn't they just let them be happy? jungkook had basically gone through hell and back to be with jimin, they couldn't take that away from them!

but his heart was so selfish. he would slam jungkook against a wall and kiss him like there was no tomorrow if he had the chance. more flower petals escaped his lips at the thought, pushing tears to his eyes. taehyung bit the inside of his cheek and allowed himself to cry on the tile floor of the bathroom.

just as his love had.

you thought i was
gonna let you off
nicely— w r o n g
nope there's gotta
be some more angst

sorry this is so short
also lol i need to save
my ideaaaaaaaaaas