Waiting Game | pjm ✓

014. Petrified

Fear engulfed Aera's conscience as she and Jimin ran to the door of the surveillance room. She had the terrible feeling that whatever awaited them on the other side, it certainly wasn't anything good. At that moment, she had no time to ask herself questions like what was her brother's girlfriend even doing with the security team's tech expert.

Without wasting any time, Jimin reached his hand towards the door knob, twisting it. The door flung open to reveal Meisa's back, her shoulders shaking as she sat on her knees on the ground, leaning over Jungkook's body.

Her green orbs dripping with tears, she glanced over her shoulder at them both. Her pale face was a picture of raw devastation and it nearly chased all the air away from Aera's lungs. Meisa moved to the side, revealing Jungkook's still form laying on the ground.

Aera's orbs stretched as large as possible upon laying her eyes on him. His usually lively eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling, but they seemed vacant like his soul had left his body. It would look exactly as if he were dead if only it weren't for the evident stiffness of his muscles.

As pale as a ghost, Jimin walked over hastily to crouch over Jungkook's body and inspect it. Aera grabbed Meisa by the hand, pulling her up and taking her into a loose hug, forcing her to look away from the sight.

"Is he-" Aera breathed out, unable to finish her sentence, as she watched Jimin place his ear over Jungkook's chest.

"I'm not sure if his heart is beating," he deadpanned.

They both stared at each other wordlessly in a suffocating silence that went on for a couple of seconds before Meisa's wracking sobs burst through her, reverberating through her chest.

"What is going on?" Namjoon appeared at the door, brows furrowed and face tense. His gaze dropped to Jungkook's lifeless form on the ground and he immediately leapt towards him, kneeling down and taking his face in his palms. "What happened here?" he asked, eyes frantically scanning the room as he broke through his usual composed persona.

"Meisa, I need you to tell us what exactly happened here," Aera's voice was wavering as she mustered all her strength to remain calm.

"I don't know!" Meisa cried out, her small palm shot up to cover her mouth as her whole face contorted in a grimace of agony. "I don't know, I don't know..." she mumbled repeatedly, close to hysterical as her sobs erupted through her incessantly.

"Please, Meisa," Aera begged, grabbing the blonde by the shoulders and shaking her.

Meisa's bottom lip quivered as she took a sharp inhale of breath.

"We were arguing," tear-rimmed red eyes roaming the room, she paused for a second, obviously waiting for someone to ask her why she had been with Jungkook in the first place, but apparently no one found that important now. "He got mad, like big mad. It was intense, we were screaming and yelling. I followed him over here. Then I started crying. We were such a mess," she whimpered. "Then all of a sudden, he stopped talking and collapsed on the ground. It all happened so fast. I ran to him, I shouted at him to wake up but he didn't. Aera, he wouldn't... wake up..." a raw cry came from her mouth as she buried her face in Aera's shoulder, shaking violently.

"He fell, just like that?" Namjoon frowned.

Meisa wiped the tears from her eyes. "It happened in the blink of an eye. I looked at him, and next thing I know..." she trailed off, sobbing and sniffling, struggling to breathe against the crying.

"You looked at him?" Namjoon continued questioning, staring intently at Meisa.

She just gave a weak nod, running a hand over her wet face, despair swimming in her emerald green orbs.

"Meisa, you wear contacts, don't you?" Namjoon's question was so sudden and inappropriate that it caused Aera to shoot him a wide-eyed glare.

"How is that relevant right now?" she hissed, still holding the whimpering Meisa in her arms.

"I just need to know. Are you wearing contacts right now?"

Meisa slowly stopped sobbing. "Yes, I am. I wear them almost all the time," she answered, slightly frowning as she obviously didn't understand where Namjoon was going with this.

"When was the last time you removed them?" there was a tinge of impatience coloring Namjoon's voice.

"Maybe ten minutes ago, when I started crying. It stings like hell, so I remove them when something like this happens," Meisa answered, Namjoon's questions apparently were slowly bringing her back from her panic-struck state.

"Was that before Jungkook passed out?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Perhaps we should call Dr. Kim," Jimin suddenly cut in, causing all the heads to snap in his direction. Kneeling down to Jungkook, his hands were resting underneath his friend's arm and it looked like he was trying to lift him up but to no avail. "His muscles are so tight and rigid and they're all in an extended position. I can't even fold his arm. It's like he's..."

"Petrified." Namjoon uttered blankly.

"What?" Aera's jaw hung low as she couldn't believe her ears. "Are you implying someone paralyzed Jungkook?"

"In any case we have to call Dr.Kim," Jimin said apprehensively.

"You're right," Aera nodded, glancing at the blonde to her right. "Meisa, I think you should leave. If someone sees you, they might start asking questions and..." her voice disappeared towards the end of the sentence. It was just now that she connected all the dots, realizing the real reason Meisa was with Jungkook that day.

"No!" Meisa screeched hysterically, yanking her arm off abruptly. "No, I'm not going anywhere. Please, I can't leave him alone. Aera, I can't!" Her puffy eyes welled up with tears again as she spiraled back into desperate weeping.

"Meisa, you have to. If someone finds out..." Aera pressed her lips into a thin line. Her heart sank upon witnessing the horror of losing Jungkook in Meisa's eyes. She could never judge her for what she had been doing, but she was certain there were other people who wouldn't be that sympathetic. Meisa would not only be frowned upon and judged, she would be treated like a pariah by her whole family.

"I'm not leaving," a heart-breaking yelp erupted from Meisa's mouth as she threw her whole body over Jungkook, her small palms tugging on his shirt as pain flowed from every pore of her body. "Kookie," she aspirated. "Kookie, please wake up. Please come back to me," she begged, pressing her face to his as the salty tears continued falling down.

Aera just stared at her, heart stuck in her throat. Namjoon walked over to the blonde, his fingers slightly patting her shoulder.

"Come on, Meisa. You need to go," he whispered, his deep voice laced with pity. "I'll escort you to-"

"I said I'm not leaving him!" there was a raw intensity to Meisa's voice, like she was rebelling against the reality. It was heart-wrenching to listen to her. "Kookie, please, I need you," her voice softened as her body started rocking back and forth like that of a small child refusing to obey their parent. The tears streamed relentlessly down her face, landing on Jungkook's motionless form.

Aera gasped. She squinted to see better when she caught the outer corner of Jungkook's mouth twitch. Then he wheezed like it had been the first time that air was penetrating his lungs, his chest heaved and he groaned, abruptly sitting up on the floor.

Everyone was stunned. Even Meisa's incessant wails stopped as a baffled silence filled the room.

"Why are you guys staring at me like that?" Jungkook frowned, his voice a little bit hoarser as if he was waking up from sleep.

Instantaneously, the other four exchanged startled looks as no one dared to peep a word. Namjoon was the first one to break the thick silence.

"Have any of you heard of Medusa Gorgon?"