𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝. 𝘯𝘢 𝘫𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯 [✅]

this side of paradise

lowercase intended.
—

gunseok has always hated hospitals. bad things happened here more often than not, and he could practically smell death in the air.

he exhaled slowly, running his fingers through his hair, feeling a headache settling in. his eyes were red and puffy from crying so much in the last three hours but he was relieved.

jaemin was going to live and that's what mattered. he is going to be okay,and nothing else was important in that moment.

jeno sat next to him in complete silence, though gunseok could see his hands shaking. he honestly felt bad for the younger boy. of course he knew the things jeno has done and fucked up but despite of that he felt like he should comfort the other. and that's what he did.

he cirled one of his arms around jeno's shoulders and brought him closer to him into an awkward hug. the younger slowly put his arms around gunseok's back taking a shaky breath.

"this is all my fault", he muttered into gunseok's shoulder. the older just shook his head, drawing circles on the small of jeno's back to somewhat calm him down.

"not all of it is, don't worry so much about it", he mumbled, letting go of the boy as soon as he saw the doctor walking out of jaemin's room. gunseok, jeno and jaemin's mother stood up at the same time and rushed over to the man who seemed to be in his early forties.

"he is stable, we could successfully wash the drugs out of his system. thankfully, they were only a stronger type of painkillers, usually prescribed for migraines. however, we are going to have to keep him on suicide watch for five days, just to make sure everything is going to be fine. while we are waiting for jaemin to wake up, i would like to send the head of psychiatry, mr.kim to inform you about our hospital's mental health support groups and things like that. it is optional, but i would strongly recommend that you at least hear him out,"he said gently.

"that is not necessary, we are already getting jaemin help. although, after today, i don't think it would be a bad idea to change things up a little bit."

"alright,i will page dr.kim to let him know you are here. i'll check up on jaemin in a little bit," he offered a smile before turning left and rushing over to another part of the corridor.

"he once told me that people who don't want to be helped can't be helped," jeno muttered after a few seconds of silence.

no one answered.

5 days later

"you are all making such a fuss about it, i swear to god" jaemin muttered under his breath, not really intending for anyone else but him to hear. gunseok chuckled lowly and put jaemin's bag into his car with a shake of his head before sitting in the driver's seat. jaemin and his mom were sitting in the back meanwhile jeno called shotgun and was fiddling with the car's radio, trying to find a song that would fit all of their styles.

it was a beautiful wednesday when the doctors finally let jaemin out. he had to go back though, seeing as his mother thought that letting him stay in a mental health care facility for a while was the best way to get him more help. jaemin didn't fight his parent's decision, deep down he was glad there was hope for him to get out of the hellhole created in his head.

he knew something was wrong, something that wasn't jeno. he was so used to blaming it on the crush he had on the boy, and then blamed him for cheating on him, and meanwhile that was a horrible experience, he always knew that that wasn't the problem. he spent countless nights thinking about it and he came to the conclusion that he would have felt like this regardless of jeno doing all the bullshit he did, so he might as well just forgive the boy. it was just easier to pretend to be happy with someone by his side, nothing more, nothing less.

though, he had gunseok, who he was eternally grateful for. every moment they spent together was pure bliss, filled with comfortable actions, lots of hand-holdings and chaste kisses on the cheeks and foreheads and he couldn't have asked for more. the older boy was with him at every step of the healing process, and jaemin felt a lot better knowing that he had such a damn good support system that's got his back. sure, five days of being together constantly wasn't a lot of time, but the teenager sure was looking forward to the future he would be spending with the tattooed boy.

when they arrived in front of jaemin's house, jeno and mrs.na quickly got the bags and hurriedly made their way into the house to leave gunseok and jaemin some privacy.

"thanks for bringing me home," jaemin said, pressing his waist against the car comfortably as gunseok stepped in front of him and smiled at him.

"anytime," he replied, intertwining their fingers with a grin on his face, pure love shining in his eyes. jaemin squirmed and gunseok chuckled before cupping the younger's face and moving so that their foreheads were touching softly, still staring at the beauty in front of him."god i'm so in love with you, i don't know what i'd do without you. i'm glad you're here."

"i'm not going anywhere," jaemin said, closing his eyes.

"i know, i'm not letting you go. ever,"the older chuckled as he pressed his lips against the shorter one's, making him open his eyes.

"what if the treatment doesn't work?" he mumbled, a glimpse of fear in his eyes. he was terrified that he would never get better, that he would have to live with the nasty voices in his head forever. they seemed to only quiet down when he was around gunseok, but he wasn't going to be around him anymore for six months. that seemed like hell.

what if gunseok finds someone else while he's gone?

"i can see that pretty head of yours overthinking stuff. everything is going to be alright, jaemin. you are not alone in this, we are all here, for you, with you, until you need us. i'm going to visit you so much the nurses will get sick of me,"he let out a laugh."now,come here and let me kiss all of your fears away,"he whispered on jaemin's lips.

and so he did.

the end.