Teach me

4

Seokjin let the icy cold water fall in his face, wet his body and wake up his paralyzed consciousness. He stayed under it for quite a long while, trying to wash away all the null feelings, pain and filthiness that have been conquering him.

The water got mixed up with some random tears that rolled down his cheeks, epitomizing his last attempt to feel something else than drunk numbness. He felt empty and hollow, no longer in complete pain, but more in despair, unable to feel and experience things fully anymore.

The freezing water was no help to his tired body and soul, not managing to wake him up solely. He was now, however, not drunk, kind of awake and, most importantly,  cleaner than before, and that was some kind of progress.

He stepped out of his shower, dried himself up and started getting changed into neater clothes.

While Seokjin was in his bathroom, getting cleaned up, Namjoon was in his kitchen, washing the dishes and picking up all the trash from around the house, tidying up the place along the way. He also swiped and mopped  the floors, dusted down the tables and rearranged the furniture in their (presumably) right place. He made his best efforts, in order to make the place look somewhat acceptable, and he did indeed succeed.

The living room now looked brighter, clear of litter and rubbish, the kitchen was shiningly clean, the air of the apartment was refreshed. Namjoon was truly proud of himself.

However, he failed miserably when he tried to cook for Seokjin.

He just wanted to make some Japchae. I mean, how hard could some noodles be, in order to look presentable?

"Really fucking hard." Namjoon thought, trying his best to unstick the noodles from the bottom of the strainer.
"Hell, how hard can it be to boil pasta?"

"You need help with that?"

"Fuck-you" Namjoon said, jumping off his feet startled.
"Jin, for God's sake, don't scare me like that. My soul left my body."
"Sure thing." Seokjin answered dully.
"Anyway, do you actually want me to help out."
Namjoon looked at his burned, sticky noodles, and his sad, miserably boiled water.
"I mean, it would be gladly appreciated."

Half an hour later, Namjoon was presented with a full coursed meal, including a huge bowl of Bimbibap rice, a dish of Kimchi and some Dumplings, as side-dishes to the main one, an even bigger bowl of mouth-waterinlgy savory chicken noodle soup.

Namjoon was left drooling and dumbfounded.

"How did you even manage to get all of this done so quickly?"
"It's a talent." he answered smirking.
"Shall we?"
"Oh, you guess I may shall." Namjoon answered, dipping head first into the Dumplings.

Seokjin on the other hand, hardly touched his food. Namjoon noticed that his movements were slow and that he was quiet (as per usual) but other than that, he just looked really tired. He also looked like he had once again lost some weight.

"Hey, Jin."
"What.."
"Why don't you eat something?"
"I am not really in the mood, Joon.."
"Hey, I told you, now that I came, you will have no choice but to get well. So you better start eating."
"I am not in the mood."
"Well guess what, I don't care, you need to eat."
"..."
"Now."

Seokjin signed defeated, and took his chopsticks. He ate some rice, and had some soup, but other than that, he still refused to eat anything else.

"One step at a time." Namjoon thought, smiling to himself.

"Okay Seokjin, now that you ate, it's time for us to finally go on a walk!"