The Quiet Boy

Chapter 17

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With tear falling from his eyes and rolling down his cheeks, he held Taehyung close to him as he sat outside waiting for the ambulance to show up.

"Why didn't you tell me what was happening to you?" he whispered and looked down at the other male. "I could have helped. Maybe if I came looking for you sooner." he moved Taehyung's hair from his eyes. "I'm so sorry." he buried his face into the crook of Taehyung's neck and cried.

"I knew something was wrong," he said, voice coming out muffled. "I should've listened to that feeling. I'm sorry."

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Jeongguk's mother took him home after Taehyung was admitted to the hospital. She decided that being there during this time wouldn't be good for him. She could already see how stressed he had become and being there is only making it worse.

He sat in his room, his legs bent up, his elbows on his knees with his hands gripping his hair as he cried and cursed at himself. Cursed at himself for not listening to the feeling he got when Taehyung didn't come to school for the first time. Cursed at himself for not knowing that something was wrong by how the other looked and acted.

God, how could he have been so stupid? The thought of something like this happening to Taehyung never crossed his mind. Not even once considering everything about him was nothing like a normal teen.

"I'm so fucking stupid," he whispered to himself. "I should've known."

Quite sobs could be heard from his door, sounding as if they were miles away. Whispers could also be heard but words unable to be formed and soft sniffling noises followed along as well.

The sounds coming from the room, mixed together, were hard to listen too. It hurt knowing they were coming from someone who didn't really show their feelings.

He was the kind of person to keep things bottled up and if they became too much for him to handle he'd force himself to talk to one of his friends.

The sound of knuckles meeting wood emitted from the door. No answer. It resonated again but still no answer.

The boy was in his own world, his own bubble, unable hear anything but his own sobs and curses.

"Jeongguk?" Jin's voice mixed in with the sounds that filled the room as the door was slowly pushed open.

The sight that sat on the other side of the door was heartbreaking. He looked so weak and broken.

He wrapped his arm around the other's shoulders in a way to comfort the upset boy.

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Almost two weeks had passed and Jeongguk seemed like his normal self. He laughed a lot and was talkative as always. A smile present on his face often. No one knew exactly how awful he was truly feeling and he made sure of it. So the others assumed he was fine and he was even able to visit Taehyung.

He entered the males hospital room but to his dismay, the boy hadn't woken up yet. The sight of the boy made his chest tighten.

How could something like this happen to him?

Taking a seat next to the bed, he looked up at the sleeping male. His bruises had begun to fade away along with his cuts and scrapes that have healed or almost healed.

He felt so relieved to see that the other was slowly getting better. It felt as if he could finally let go of that something that he had been holding. To him, it was like that something only grew heavier every day he saw Taehyung. During that time he didn't understand why he felt such a heavy feeling when he saw the boy but now, he understands why.

He sighed and leaned forward as he crossed his arms and rested his head against them. "Why did you keep it a secret for so long, Tae?" he asks as he uncrossed one of his arms and guided his hand towards Taehyung's, looking at how pale Taehyung's hand was compared to his own and how thin his fingers were.

"I or maybe even someone else could've helped you before this happened. Maybe this wouldn't have happened if I didn't meet you." he closed his eyes as he felt them begin to fill. "Maybe if I listened to that bad feeling I had, things could've happened differently. I'm sorry I didn't listen to myself when I should've. I'm sorry I couldn't help you like a friend should and I'm sorry for not being able to stop this from happening." he lightly squeezed Taehyung's hand.

For a few seconds, Jeongguk sat listening to the beeping of the ECG. He couldn't get over how terrible he felt. How frustrated and upset he was at himself.

The sound of the door opening started the male. Thinking it was his mom made him jump up and wipe away the few tears that had escaped from the corner of his eyes, not wanting her to see how upset he really was.

"Jeongguk, sweety. We need to get going." his mom's voice rang through the almost silent room. "Are you feeling oka-"

"I'm fine." he gave a small smile. "Don't worry." he quickly walks passed her not wanting her to see his now red and puffy eyes.

After watching her son walk out of the room she turned her attention to the other boy. "Get better soon, Taehyung."

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"Jeongguk!" his mom shouted as she shook the sleeping boy. "You need to get up you're going to be late!"

The said male jumped up is shock and turned to his clock, it reading 7:08. Did he forget to set his alarm?

He quickly got off the bed and began to get ready or at least he thought he was. He was rushing around. Going in and out of the bathroom and his room but nothing was happening. Nothing was getting done. He rushed around partly dressed, his hair was still a mess, he hadn't brushed his teeth or washed his face.

His mother saw how he was rushing around but wasn't really doing anything. Something was obviously not right. "Jeongguk," she called. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready."

"No, you're not. You're not even fully dressed." she pointed. "What have you been doing for the past ten minutes?"

"Mom, I told you." he rushed passed her and into his room. Opening a drawer, he began to rummage through his clothes.

He refused to look at her and she noticed that but she didn't understand why. "No, you're not. You're just rushing around. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mom. You ask me this every day now. The answer is always the same because I'm fine." he closed the drawer and opened another one and repeated what he did before.

"Jeongguk," she said sternly and went over to her son, turning him around to face her. His eyes were red and puffy and the corners of his eyes were also red as if he had been rubbing them over and over, the area growing irritated.

The instant his eyes met with his mother's he broke down crying.

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