A World of our Own | K.TH *COMPLETED*

Forever Slumber

"What do you mean he's not waking up?!" I exclaim, my eyes haunted with fear. "I thought it was just his throat that was damaged!"

"His throat is healing remarkably fast— at a speed in which not even medicine or treatment can catch up to. His voice will be returned to him in just a few days." The doctor fidgets with the clipboard he's holding as he struggles to speak the next words.

"What?" I press, an edge to my voice. "What's wrong? It's just a short coma, right? He's going to wake up soon."

But when I look around to see the sorrowful gazes of all six boys fixed upon me, I nearly shatter. Tears start to brim in my eyes as my fists clench in frustration.

"Talk to me!"

"The patient doesn't seem to show any signs of breaking his unresponsive state soon. There is a substantial possibility this might last longer than an average coma."

Face contorted in disbelief, I stare at the doctor for a long minute before I finally realize he is telling the truth.

"No way." I whisper. "I don't believe it. Let me see him for myself."

Not even bothering for the doctor's consent, I rush for the closed door when I realize it's locked.

"Why is it locked?" I exclaim, frustration showing in my tears as they run down my cheeks. Traces of red shade my skin as I shake the knob with all my strength.

"The patient cannot be disturbed tod—"

I whirl to him, seeing red and black as venom sparks in my voice. "He's not a patient. He has a name— so start using it, you d—"

Suga claps his hand around my mouth before I can go any further, and I nearly spit fire as Hoseok and Jimin apologizes to the head doctor.

Why were they apologizing to him? He couldn't save V— he couldn't save him.

"Relax, kiddo." Suga whispers to me as he pats my back comfortingly. "Tae will come back— he won't leave you without a proper goodbye."

When he realizes I'm crying, he silently draws a white cloth from his back pocket. Like he's prepared for this. Like he knew I was going to end up spilling tears.

"But he did."

My voice is so tiny that he asks for me to repeat myself. In one hand, I clutch Teacup while in the other I hold on to Suga's sleeve to keep myself upright.

"He did say goodbye."

Everyone falls silent as the sound of my tears fill the emptiness in the air. When I recall his last words, I believe more and more that it really was his final goodbye to me. I start to believe that it really was his ending words.

Remember— I love you.

"What did he say?" Jin asks quietly, the question that everyone seems like they want to know the answer to. And it's even worse when I tell them.

Jimin and Namjoon's faces grow pale, while Suga and Hoseok fall into a silence even more silent than silence: and Jin closes his eyes with a soft sigh.

And tears shine in Jungkook's eyes.

We're all crying, in our own ways. You didn't have to produce tears to cry— you could cry on the inside, or the outside, or somewhere in the middle. You could keep the tears in, or let the tears out. You could stay silent, or make noise. There were many different ways to cry, and one didn't define everything else.

"So he's not waking up?"

Suga looks like he wants to slap himself for telling me that— he literally couldn't even look me in the eyes at the moment. At my pessimistic behavior, Jin shakes his head.

"Have hope. V's going to wake up, you just need to give him some time to restore and recover. He's been through a lot, mentally and physically."

"But what if he doesn't?" I challenge, knowing that none of us had the answer to that unspoken question I'd just voiced out. "What if he never wakes up— what if he's stuck in some eternity sleep? What then?"

"He won't." Jin states in his end-of-discussion tone. "He's going to wake up, and we can talk later after we give him some time. Let's see what happens, alright? He might just wake up tomorrow and we'd be worrying for nothing."

Every day was a torture without him to get me through— who was I going to depend on? I'd been so spoiled by his presence that the thought of spending the rest of my days without him brought tears to my eyes.

"Noona, hyung also told you to not cry," Jungkook says softly, handing me a clean cloth for me to dry my tears with. "And I heard that myself, even though the words might've been a bit faded for me."

"Okay." My voice sounds numb and detached to my own ears as I add a nod at the end for good measure. "But tomorrow I'm coming back."

Like they're all relieved that I'd temporarily calmed myself, they nod in unison as I gather the jacket I'd discarded atop a chair.

The Pomeranian suddenly leaps out of my jacket pocket, and I can't help a small giggle escaping my lips as he nuzzles his nose against my cheek.

"Hi, Teacup."

That would be his temporary name until V woke up to give him a new one. Continuing to burrow into my arms, the tiny puppy wags his tail so rapidly the impact is starting to hurt a bit.

"Is that a puppy?!"

Jin's surprised voice makes me look up with a slight smile. To show the boys, I hold up the Pomeranian so that they could see how adorable the puppy was.

"Can I pet it?"

When I hand the puppy to Hoseok, the puppy starts to growl so much I take it back in worry that it might bite him.

"I'm sorry— I have no clue why he's doing this." The puppy reacts violent to all the others as well, either snapping his teeth or barking loudly.

"I guess he only likes you, noona." Jungkook remarks as he holds the barking mess of a puppy back to me. The moment the Pomeranian is in my arms, it starts to cuddle my fingers like it hadn't just tried to rip off Namjoon's face a minute earlier.

"Let's go," Jin says, taking out his clinking keys from his pocket. "I'll treat you guys to some food— I think we all need it."