23

"What are you doing here, Jungkook..?"

I waited for his reply but it never came. He stayed frozen, there was not a single reaction from him.

"Jungkook? Hey, if you're here at least answer me.."

I tried to get his attention again, but still, there was no reaction. I sighed in frustration and just turned on my heel and left him there. If he was just going to ignore me, I didn't want to deal with him. I unlocked the front door and slammed it closed.

"Jimin? Is that you? It's past eleven, where have you been?"

My mother peeked her head out from the living room with a concerned look on her face.

"Sorry, Mom. I went to a carnival with a friend."

She sighed and scolded me for not calling and telling her first. I apologized before heading up to my room. I set the six foot, unnecessarily huge, Snivy in the corner of my room along with a few of my other plushies before washing up for bed. I put my uniform and Jimin's jacket in the laundry and pulled out a spare uniform to wear tomorrow. I headed downstairs and into the kitchen where my mother was. She was tying up a trash bag and the moment she looked up and saw me, I knew what she was going to say. Immediately, I turned on my heel and tried to dash out of the kitchen,

but my father blocked the doorway with a sly smirk on his face.

"Jimin, will you take out the trash for me?"

"Well, you're going to make me do it even if I refuse."

I sighed and took the trash bag from my mother who laughed at my comment. My father moved out of the doorway and patted my head like I was six again as I

walked to the doorway where I slipped on my shoes. I opened the door and walked over to our garbage can where I threw the trash bag in. I turned back to walk inside when I smelled the smoke from a cigarette.

Was Jungkook still here?

Worried, I scurried over and peeked outside the gates to see Jungkook in the exact same position I had seen him in before leaving him there. In panic, I shoved open the gate and crouched down next to him. I took the cigarette from his mouth and chucked it onto the ground before stomping on it. Still, he didn't move.

"J-Jungkook? Are you there?"

I poked his cheek and gasped at how cold he was. He wore a thin, short-sleeved shirt along with a pair of jeans. I gently pulled his ice-cold hands away from his face and saw that his eyes were closed. His head started to fall to the side and his breathing was faint and shallow. Alarmed, I tried to carry him inside but failing to do so, I ran inside and yelled for my father who came running out from the kitchen with a startled look on his face. I quickly explained the situation to him and immediately, he ran outside and carried Jungkook inside.

"Honey, come here! There's an unconscious boy here and he's ice cold!"

My father called for my mother who emerged from her study office wearing her glasses. At the sight of Jungkook, she immediately rushed over and checked his pulse.

"He's alive, get him warm. Quickly!"

My mother's doctoral commands came out as took control of the situation. My father rushed Jungkook upstairs and into the first spare room

he saw, Jaeyoung's room. I watched from the doorway in fright as my mother came in with a cloth, warm water, and several blankets. I closed the door and leaned back on the wall by it. I slid down and sat with my knees pulled up.

This was my fault. I shouldn't have ditched him without checking on him first. Goddammit, Jimin. What the hell were you thinking?? Who leaves a guy outside in the winter cold for two hours?!

A few minutes after, the door opened and both my parents walked out with relieved smiles. As I stood up, my mother brushed my hair out of my face with a caring expression.

"He's Jungkook, right? You've stayed over at his aunt's house, correct?"

"Yes, Mom, that's him, but that doesn't matter right now! Is he okay?!"

"Calm down, sweetie. He lost a lot of body heat, he'll be fine in a few hours, maybe by tomorrow afternoon."

I let out a long breath of relief. I'd just stay with him until tomorrow afternoon. He'd be alright by then, right?

"Mom, I'm skipping school tomorrow. I have to."

She raised her eyebrow at me as I stared at her with a determined expression. I felt responsible for what happened and I wasn't going to let my parents handle the situation I created. My mother finally sighed after a bit and smiled. She hugged me before giving me permission to skip.

"It looks like you've finally found someone you care for again. I'm proud of you, Jimin."

My mother kissed the top of my forehead before telling me that she'd call me in sick. I smiled gratefully and thanked her as she went back to her study office while my dad patted my back and left for his room. I peeked into the room and saw Jungkook with layers of blankets laid on top of him along with a warm, damp cloth on his forehead. I ran to my room and grabbed a floor pillow and headed back into my brother's room. I set my pillow down by the bed next to Jungkook and kept an eye out for any more accidents. I changed the cloth oh his forehead as it started to chill and after a while, I picked out a book from my brother's shelf of favorite books and sat by Jungkook's side. The book was in English, being that my brother was very literate and intelligent. He was the prodigy my parents always dreamed of having.

Halfway through the book, I had given up on trying to understand the storyline and found myself drifting off to sleep by Jungkook's side.