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

The Saddest Story

"It's been a week."

"I know, Tzuyu." Jin tells me, expression clouded so heavily I can't read his emotions. "I know. Let's wait— he needs time to himself."

"Okay," I say, swallowing tears that I'd nearly dried out of my eyes lately. It just somehow manages to keep coming out, no matter how much I spill. "Okay."

Time Skip

"Why isn't he waking up?! It's been a month since he fell into this coma!" My voice comes out unexpectedly furious, all angles and edges. I couldn't help it— I was on a constant stress cycle these days.

I really shouldn't be pouring this on Jungkook— he was as confused as I was. But he was the only one here today, since the others had things to tend to.

And I needed someone to confide in. To ask questions that I knew couldn't be answered.

"I don't know," He whispers quietly, softer than what V would have sounded like if he was awake. "Comas usually don't last this long..."

That made my heart sink even further inside my chest than it already had. All his physical vitals read fine— there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. Even his voice was restored, just that he couldn't speak it.

"Have you been crying?"

At Jungkook's concerned tone, I quickly shake my head. It looks very unconvincing— and his face falls when I outright lie to him.

"I'm sorry, Jungkook. But it's not that bad, I promise. It's been better."

He still doesn't look completely believing as he nods uncertainly. It's what I'd expected— after all, my excuse had been flimsier than paper.

"Please don't cry, noona. You look really pale— and you can barely stand."

At his sorrowful voice, I can't help but console him with a comforting pat to his back. When I do, I notice that his doe eyes have faint streaks of red in them— the sign of nightmares.

"I'll try."

Time Skip

Days had turned to weeks. In turn, the weeks had shifted to long, torturous months— filled with nothing but pain and emptiness. I hadn't realized how agonizing waiting was until I felt it grind against my heart, claw against my bones.

Even though Teacup and the boys had helped, there always seemed to be something missing. Like there was an empty hole in the background that I couldn't find a substitute for.

Every second felt like an hour, and every hour felt like eternity. Time became my sole enemy— the one thing that I came to despise and hate. Everything else faded into the background, as if they weren't matters of importance any longer.

It was agonizing to watch him with his eyes closed, chest steady with its rise and falls.

It was terrifying imagining he'd never wake up.

His cheek feels cold against my fingertips, like I'm touching a corpse instead of the shadow of a life. Teacup jumps out of my pocket to place himself in his usual spot, whimpering as he nuzzles V's neck.

I watch as he licks V's other cheek, then struggling to get on top of his chest. So far in what I'd seen, me and V were the only ones he didn't put up any resistance to.

Breaking my gaze from the owner and his puppy, I fix my eyes on the monitor beside the bed instead. The screen follows green with his heartbeat, rising and falling at such a steady rate it might as well have been a flat line.

This was usually the timing where I'd burst into tears, but today I keep the sting back as I shift my fingers through his hair. It had grown slightly longer in the months that he'd spent asleep, now proceeding to cover his closed eyes.

At least he's still alive. I think, feeling the steady heartbeat vibrating through his still body. At least he's still breathing.

And as long as he is doing both of those, I will wait forever.

Time Skip

"Happy birthday."

An exact year had passed since his coma— and still no sign of anything. All that kept him alive was a medical life support attached to his body, providing nutrients and minerals that he couldn't afford to get himself.

As I continue my routine of staring back and forth from the monitor to his still features, I shake something from my pocket. The others hadn't noticed yet, and I hoped it would stay that way. Realizing that I was now taking antidepressants would just make things worse for them.

I couldn't help it— the depression that V had managed to hold down had come looming back up without him. I'd practically memorized his exact face by now, able to recall every curve and contour. If someone gave me a paper and pen, I could draw him without not one eyelash missing.

It wasn't surprising— I'd watched over him every single day, observing as he grew into his manhood. He was twenty now, while I was nineteen— still a young age, but more mature now than ever before.

And if I'd thought that he couldn't possibly get any more beautiful when he was eighteen, I was undeniably and most unmistakably, wrong.

He'd grown even taller, which was hard to believe at first. Now a bit over six foot, he almost exceeded the length of the bed.

And I'd know.

I'd cut his hair myself, cared for him
and checked over his condition more times than any nurse possibly could have. It wasn't wrong if I was said to basically be his personal nurse— I practically knew everyone in this hospital because of how often I'd come by every single day.

And more than once, I'd overhear them talking about the waiting girl and the sleeping boy— saying how their story was the saddest story that would ever exist on the surface of this planet.