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the walls were less white and boring with all the photographs plastered against them. there were postcards and paintings of places he'd never been. only dreams of visions he could only hope to witness in person. there were churches with stained glass and fields of flowers that gave the room life when some days there didnt seem to be any other source of it. the sunlight shone in through the window, early that morning with chirps of birds and a bit of breeze escaping through the small open crack.

jungkook sat next to it, his leg propped up on the chair. his tea was cold by now, long forgotten as his eyes stared out at nothing in particular. there were people on the sidewalk and clouds passing by all too quickly. occasionally they would cover the sun and then pass on by, to leave the sun shining brightly again and the light causing the boy to squint from the sight. it was never un-welcomed, the warmth it brought felt like a gift on his cold skin.

the peaceful-ness was interrupted by the door opening, wheel rolling in and only reminding him of the routine he hated to follow. jungkook just looked at the watch and hoped he could leave soon. the freedom was small, it came with the tick of the clock and the spaces between medication and treatment that had to administered at specific times.

"good morning sunshine." his nurse spoke.

ms. aecha came over to the side of his bed and left the cart there. "we got french toast and oatmeal this morning. no orange juice unfortunately-"she started to say, but soon realized the boy was still staring and probably not listening to a word she had said.

"any pudding?" he asked instead.

ms. aecha smiled and started to straighten the sheets of his bed. "of course my dear."

jungkook smiled, already tearing his eyes away from the sight before him to look over at the small cup with the chocolate dessert inside. he stood from his spot on the chair, going over to take it and peel off the lid, discarding it in the small bin beside the bed. "ms aecha?" he asked, not looking up as he took the small paper cup of pills and poured them on top of the pudding.

his nurse hummed, glancing up briefly to see the boy mixing his medication with the chocolate treat.

"how is taehyungs mom doing?"

some would say it was mildly inappropriate – to ask about some other patient, especially since jungkook knew the confidentiality of it. he couldnt help it though. he doesnt think he could bring himself to ask the other boy about it. thats why he settled with asking his own nurse.

she wasnt surprised at the question. she had seen to two boys the first night at the garden, and then a few times in the hallways walking together paired with smiles and gentle touches. she of course would not speak of other patients – but there was a soft spot for the boy she looked at.

"have you told him yet." was all she asked.

jungkook continued to eat his pudding, ignoring the few harder spots of it as he swallowed. he said it with a shrug, "didnt seem important yet."

"maybe not to you." she said, standing up now and no longer fussing with making the bed that he would probably climb into soon. "his mom is going into palliative care."

jungkook hummed and sat on the edge of his bed now, setting the empty pudding cup down and grabbing the fork. he had no appetite, but he pushed around the french toast so it at least looked like he was trying. it has been working for a few days now.

the lack of response kind of told the nurse that the conversation was probably over. "dont forget about your appointment later." she said instead.

jungkook just nodded and cut a piece of the toast with the side of the fork. he couldnt forget, there wasnt much to think about these days. except that wasnt true, because right now he was only thinking about taehyung. he wondered what the boy was doing and if he was in the cafeteria trying to force something down, and he hoped that taehyung was wishing to run into him somewhere in the hallways. but that wouldnt happen, because jungkook was sitting here taking his own medication and waiting for his own appointment later on today. he could only play around so much, walking around and smiling and playing cards like it was a vacation.

if only he knew thats exactly what the other was doing. if only he knew that taehyung had walked into the hospital that morning hoping to run into the raventte. taehyung didnt know he needed that smile, the cheeky one paired with the mischievous look in those dark eyes. he only lasted about an hour in his moms room, they had breakfast and then his dad and his moms nurse told her about how they were proceeding with her treatment – which meant not proceeding at all and then followed with how much time was left. thats when taehyung left.

he didnt mind missing the sad smiles and stupid words of what would follow from here. all he needed right now was a bad coffee and some playful banter. he only knew he'd get one of them.

the creamer stirred around as he poured it, changing the color of the coffee to a lighter brown that matched the cushioned seats of the hospital chairs. he added the two sugars and never looked away, sitting back down on the chair by the window and wondering if that spot would ever be taken. the sun shone in and lit up the area around him, shining over the surface of the table and making him squint a little. taehyung almost moved from his spot, to find one better suited with more shade from the bright rays.

maybe fate was funny like that, but he never moved. he stayed there and sipped at the coffee. the sun no longer bothered him as the thoughts in his mind bothered him more.

there was that new light though, and it came as a light chuckle and small candy on the table. "are you ever going to learn?"

it was jungkook, standing there with his backpack on one shoulder and a crooked grin on his face. taehyung wasnt aware how contagious that smile was. "maybe i need something to keep you around." taehyung said.

"im stuck here dont worry." the words slipped before he could stop them, but jungkook was lucky enough the other didnt catch on. taehyung did notice how the boy was looking a little tired today, the bags under his eyes and the subtle paleness of his face gave that away.

"are you alright?" taehyung asked.

jungkook nodded and sat down across from the boy with his coffee. "of course. why wouldnt i be." it was a rhetorical question.

taehyung just hummed and pushed the coffee cup around. "so jungkook, i have a question." he said.

the words sent a chill down the boys spine. he didnt do well with questions, especially when he was keeping something from said person asking the question. jungkook didnt let it phase him though, his expression not changing as he leaned back in the seat and folding his hands gently in his lap.

"is there any chance i could get your number?"

jungkook couldnt believe it. he wasnt an idiot and maybe should have expected it, but maybe his mind played games with himself and he figured this was all for fun and meant nothing. that really wasnt the case though. he wanted to see the other male and didnt know the feeling was mutual. it was a feeling he would normally run from – this time felt different though. taehyung was so inviting and had a warm aura to himself.

a minute past and jungkook didnt realize he never responded, all the thoughts in his head made it seem like he was talking but in reality there was just silence. it was the raise of the eyebrow and questioning glance that had jungkook finally coming back to reality.

"i have to tell you something."

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