Once Again

82

A week and a half later, Jungkook was in a meeting with his senior management team when he received the call. He immediately adjourned and dismissed his managers so he could leave his office to speed through Seoul to a location that had become like a second home to him. Before he drove out of the garage of his company's building, he called another number to relay the news that he had just received.

When he reached his destination, he parked and took a deep breath before he exited his vehicle. He then got out and hurried into the large sophisticated structure before him. He stepped into the lift and pressed the button for his floor. Again, the floor was like a second home to him. He spent almost all of his free time there.

When the lift doors open, he hurried down a quiet sterile corridor. Whenever he encountered the men and women who worked on the floor, they would stop to bow or greet him politely, recognising him as the Jeon CEO.

Jeon Corporation was a generous benefactor to the establishment where these men and women worked but their deference was more for the fact that Jungkook was a frequent visitor in the past and they were sorry to see him come often once again.

Jungkook acknowledged every bow and greeting with a polite nod of his own but he never stopped to make conversation. He carried on walking, his steps sure, and his aim — the last room at the end. Before he entered, he took another deep breath and wondered, for the hundredth time since he left his office, if he had been too hasty in refusing Hoseok and Haein's request to come with him. He mentally shook away his nerves and stepped into the large room.

The room's sole occupant was sitting up in bed, facing the window. Though the face was serene, the expression was blank. Their eyes watched everything outside but did not appear to register anything, and there were visible signs that they had been crying. Even now, as Jungkook approached the bed, a tear was slowly making its way down a soft porcelain cheek.

"Jin?" Jungkook breathed. "Jinnie?"

Jungkook had been waiting for this day. Waiting patiently and impatiently since that tragic night two weeks ago, wondering if Jin would ever wake up again, afraid that he would give up and follow Taehyung into death.

When Jungkook had arrived at the remote Park vacation home and seen the body at the side of the house, his heart had stopped and his head felt like it would explode. It kept denying that Jimin would take that final step and kill Jin.

When one of Haein's men confirmed that it was not Jin, that it was Jimin instead, he had felt such relief. But the relief had not lasted long. Because as soon as the front door was broken down and the Special Forces men began clearing the house – room by room – Jungkook had been struck by the eerie silence.

Then when both Jin and Taehyung had been found in the room above where Jimin laid, the sight of so much blood, so much destruction, had taken Jungkook's breath away. Seeing the stillness of the two men lying on the floor had caused a low roaring in his ears that rose into a high-pitched wail which Jungkook later realised was himself screaming in anguish.

He had thought that he had lost Jin. He was saddened by Taehyung's death but it was Jin's death that he couldn't accept. He thought he was going to go mad as Haein cut the manacle away from Jin's ankle. Then when Haein turned Jin as tears ran freely down his face, a sigh and a soft moan had escaped Jin's bloody lips. It was the sweetest sound that Jungkook ever heard.

They had rushed Jin to the hospital where a medical team performed an emergency procedure in an attempt to save his unborn child. But it had been too late. So they had placed the fetus in a small casket and sent it to the funeral home to be placed next to Taehyung's for visitation. The baby had been a girl.

Jin's trauma proved too much for him to handle because he fell into a coma that no one could rouse him from. It worried Jungkook so he had resorted to playing dirty by bringing Minjoon to the hospital every day and having the little boy talk to his unconscious father, hoping that the childish voice would pull Jin back to the land of the living.

When Jin's doctor called to say that he had awakened, joy had filled all of the empty places inside Jungkook. The heavy weight that had been sitting on his chest had lifted. And the dark cloud that hung over his head blew away.

Jin was awake. Jungkook did not lose him to the memory of Taehyung.

"Jinnie?"

Jin turned his head slowly to face Jungkook. There was recognition in the pain-filled eyes, and there was also a touch of anger. But other than that, Jin's expression remained neutral.

"Why are you here, Jungkook? You are the very last person I wish to see."

Jungkook recoiled.

"Where is my son? I was told he comes every day to talk to me."

"He's home with Hobi and Haein."

"Home? You mean at my apartment?"

"No. My home."

"I do not wish for my son to be anywhere near you. I shall fetch him myself."

Jin threw his blanket off to get out of bed but the moment he stood up, his legs crumpled under him. Jungkook immediately wrapped his arms around him and pulled him flush against his body.

"Don't touch me! Don't fucking touch me!" Jin tried to push Jungkook away.

"Jin! Jin! Stop!"

"DON'T TOUCH ME! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF ME! I DON'T WANT YOU HERE! I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! LEAVE! GO THE FUCK AWAY!!"

Jin was now screaming and cursing at Jungkook as he struggled to break free. The commotion caught the attention of two nurses passing by, and they immediately hurried in to help Jungkook wrestle Jin back into bed. Then one of them left to get a physician.

When the doctor came in, his eyebrows rose at the sight before him. Jin's rage had tripled that he managed to get one hand free to throw everything within reach at Jungkook. The room was a mess.

Jin's doctor withdrew a syringe from his lab coat pocket and injected its content into the IV next to the bed. Within minutes, Jin stopped struggling and his eyes began to droop. In a desperate move, he grabbed his doctor's sleeve and begged.

"Please... my son... I want my son. I want my son."

The doctor looked at Jungkook, who immediately nodded.

"He will be here, Jin. Your son will be here when you wake up," the doctor assured. "Rest now. Get some rest."

Jin smiled tiredly and let his head sink into his pillow. As his eyes closed, he made a final heartfelt request. The emotional plea broke Jungkook's heart, and brought tears to everyone's eyes.

"My husband... please... I want my husband. My Tae-Tae... come back. I miss you..."