"How does it feel to not use oxygen anymore? Is it still as great as it sounds?" Yoongi asked with wide hopeful eyes.

Hoseok laughed through the screen while nodding his head, "It's fucking great, Yoongi."

He smiled, "Ahh! I bet so. I have to ask you every time we speak now because I just can't believe it. You have functioning lungs and you're out of this place and it's great."

Hoseok's smile got sad, "I wish you were too."

Yoongi shrugged, "Yeah me too but the food here is nice. Yesterday Taehyung let me eat pizza which he rarely does because it's not nutritious enough."

"Oh yeah. Their foods great. I might get sick just to eat it again."

Yoongi chuckled, "Let's meet up. I'll give you something."

"All jokes aside, you will get your transplant soon."

"I want one but I don't know who I am without my disease. Who am I without the medications, without the oxygen, without the feeding tube? I can't see myself as a person anymore."

Yoongi's chest tightened. When he spoke to Hoseok he felt like he could say things he couldn't to anyone else. Not to Jin or Jeongyeon who were his long lifetime friends because who wants to hear their sick friend confess their insecurities and fears?

"I feel that way too, you know." Hoseok said. "I've been taken care of my whole life and now that I'm not bound to that hospital I don't know it's weird. I've been cleared to move away from the hospital. I don't...I don't know what to do with myself sometimes. I was stuck with the same routine and now I can actually do things for myself. It's kind of odd to have so much independence all of the sudden."

Yoongi nodded, "I know. It's very difficult to break away from that cycle. I'm sure you will get used to it soon enough."

A knock on Hoseok's door made him turn away from the camera view. His mother whispered something Yoongi couldn't quite hear.

"Oh okay. I'm about to be done."

His mother exited and he focused back on Yoongi. "Something exciting happened?" He wondered with curiosity.

Hoseok laughed, "Apparently I have another visitor. People love to come see me now because I guess having surgery gives them a reason too."

Yoongi wrinkled his nose, "Tell me about it. When I got my feeding tube everyone came to see me. I got ten 'Get Well' cards and a shit ton of fruit baskets."

"At this rate I can build a castle with my 'Get Well' cards."

They laughed until it simmered down. Yoongi had a sad look in his eyes and Hoseok knew the cause of it. He could pretend all he could but his eyes told it all.

"Hey how have you been holding up? With Jimin you know?"

He sighed, "I truly am okay. I shouldn't have ever told you guys about it. Now that's all you three worry about."

Yoongi internally cringed. He knew his friends meant well, but he hated the fact that they kept reminding him of the incident he so badly wanted to forget.

Not because it wasn't important, but because he had to in order to protect his heart. He had already set himself up for failure once and he wouldn't do it again.

"We care. I don't mean to sound like a record on repeat. Just know that I'm here for you if you need to talk to me."

"Okay thanks." He said with a small smile. "I better let you go so you can get another 'Get Well Card'."

Hoseok grinned, "Yay. Another to the collection. Bye Yoongi. Take care."

"Bye!"

As soon as Hoseok hung up the phone, he got up and glanced at himself in the mirror. He didn't pay much attention to his outfit. He just made sure his hair wasn't all over the place.

He opened the door and peeked his head out. His mom was talking to someone with a smile on her face so it had to be someone likable.

"Mom?" He called.

"Oh! He's coming!" She announced.

Hoseok nodded, stepping back in his room. He made his way to the loveseat where he seemed to feel a bit more comfortable. He had been doing a lot of therapy and his soreness had subsided for the most part.

The soft knock on the door caused Hoseok to straighten up. "Come in." He said. He noticed a wrinkle on his sweater and he started rubbing his clothes attempting to make it disappear.

"You look so good."

Hoseok gasped looking up. Jungkook was right there in front of him holding a small gift bag. He stood up too quickly, triggering something to ache on his chest.

"Not too fast. You still gotta take it easy. All that therapy you're doing is tough. You must be so sore."

"I—yes. It is. What are you—what are you doing here?"

"Not happy to see me?" He grinned.

Hoseok could feel the butterflies in his chest radiate all throughout his body. He hadn't seen Jungkook since he left the hospital. He didn't think he'd see him again.

"Of course I am happy to see you. I just...I didn't think you'd visit me."

"I had to. I wanted to give you time to adjust before coming over. I'm sure you've had plenty of visitors over the last few months."

Hoseok nodded, "You have no idea." His hands intertwined in one another nervous at having his love here with him. "Do you want something to drink? Do you—are you hungry?" His speech was off. He wanted to say so many things at once it all came at once.

"No thank you. Your mom offered me a muffin and water while I waited for you."

"Oh gosh. I'm so sorry. I was on the phone with Yoongi and—"

Jungkook put his hand on his shoulder, "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Hoseok's body tensed a little bit, not used to his touch. Well, Jungkook had touched him plenty considering he had been his nurse but this somehow felt different.

He offered Jungkook a seat while he took one himself. His knees felt like they would bucks any second. As soon as he got comfortable, the pretty boy eagerly handed him the gift bag.

"What's this for?" Hoseok wondered.

"Well, I figured you've received plenty of cards and food."

Hoseok chuckled, "Well thank you."

"You haven't even opened it yet."

He smiled while opening the bag. He knew no matter what Jungkook gave him he'd like it. How could he not when Jungkook made everything so beautiful?

His eyes lit up as he pulled out a pack of pens and a sketchbook. "Woah. Thanks! These are the best pens! I really needed a new sketch book too!"

"You're welcome. So tell me, how are you feeling?"

"Great! I love not using oxygen. I still have to take the anti rejection medications which are pretty strict but I don't mind that. I'm just enjoying life."

"You look really good." Jungkook repeated.

Hoseok's cheeks turned a rosy pink. His heart was speeding. He knew Jungkook didn't mean it from a lovers point of view but it still made him all fuzzy and warm inside.

"I appreciate the compliment."

"Guess what?"

"What?"

Jungkook pulled out his phone to show him a picture of the drawing Hoseok had sent him for his birthday. It was in a picture frame on what appeared to look like his work desk.

"I'm glad you liked it and that it got to you safely. My dad can be unintentionally brusque. I was hoping it wouldn't ripped or wrinkled."

"Not at all! Your dad was really nice. He even brought me a cupcake."

"Oh man. I hope he wasn't embarrassing me."

"No, of course not."

Hoseok smiled while looking down at his lap, "I hope that Taehyung didn't get upset about my present." He nibbled the inside of his cheek afraid to make eye contact.

"Ah. About that, we are no longer seeing each other."

Hoseok's eyes slightly widened. He looked up timidly to analyze Jungkook's expression. He looked a bit upset, but not excessively so he figured it hadn't been recent.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. Sometimes things don't work out for a reason."

"Yes. I suppose you're right." Hoseok responded.

Jungkook leaned back on his chair. His arms rested on the armrest comfortably. His oversized long gray t-shirt was rolled up exposing his tattoos.

God, he was beautiful.

Hoseok felt like such a dork to act this way in front of him. He was such a teenager when it came to his crush towards him. He truly couldn't help it.

"Hoseok."

"Hmm?"

"Did you mean what you told me before going into surgery? I don't want to brush over what you said. I didn't know how to bring it up, especially after your complicated surgery."

Hoseok took a deep breath. The nervousness within him multiplied by the second. He got up from his seat to grab a sketch book.

His heart pounded loudly in his eardrums. He had accepted the fact that Jungkook was with someone else. That his relationship with him wouldn't be possible. That he wouldn't speak to him outside the hospital setting.

Yet, here Jungkook was. Single, willingly talking to him and asking him about his feelings. Hoseok didn't want to over excite himself, but a sense of thrill fell over him.

He had partners in the past. He'd been in relationships despite his disease. However, when his health problems progressed he was forced out of the world connection that he desired and needed. He closed his heart from love for a while.

That was of course until Jungkook.

One day, in between all the awful breathing treatments, the nerve wrecking procedures and thousands of pills he found comfort in him.

Jungkook always offered a kind smile. A supportive monologue even when Hoseok didn't ask him for it. That was the beauty of this affection he felt for him.

Hoseok found love when he wasn't looking for it.

Jungkook found him. Pulled him out of the darkness and gave him a happiness he didn't know he was missing.

So as he handed him the sketch pad, he felt confident that even if Jungkook did break his heart he'd be gentle with it.

He took a seat as Jungkook looked at him puzzled with the book in his hands. "What's this?" He wondered.

"Open it up. It will tell you the answer."

Jungkook did as he was told. Hoseok held his breath briefly as he began turning the pages. There was a blank expression on his face.

At least one Hoseok could not read and that scared him. He waited patiently while Jungkook scanned his work. Near the end was when he saw it.

Jungkook was starting to blush. Hoseok didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. The drawings could be taken out of context and paint him as a creepy guy.

"They're all me." He stated closing the book once again.

"Yes. I'm deeply in love with you." His voice was soft and quiet. Muffled in between his teeth. He wished he could've said it more confidently but his body felt weak.

He melted at the sight of Jungkook. It was inevitable to not get lost in his dreamy eyes. To confess your affection to someone this gorgeous was intimidating. Fear of rejection was strong.

"Oh Hoseok." He whispered with rosy cheeks.

"You don't have—you don't have to...." Hoseok's voice trembled. He didn't know how to tell him to not feel guilty.

"I'm flattered. Truly. To have someone like you love me is very flattering."

Hoseok raised his eyebrows, "Oh. Is that what you think?"

"Yes." He admitted.

Jungkook had never lied to him. He was an honest person. Hoseok smiled a little relieved. He hadn't expected him to take it so well.

"Look, I'm not an expert at love. I've had a pretty sucky record. People tend to end things with me out of the blue when I think they're going great. But I would really like to get to know you outside of our patient nurse relationship. I'm curious to know where this will lead us."

Hoseok's smile widened and got ten times brighter. His heart felt full and he got the one thing he desperately needed to not give up on his love for him. Hope.

"I'd love that. I'm curious to know too."

"Great. So let's start over again. My name is Jungkook. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said, extending his hand out.

Hoseok giggled, taking hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Hoseok."

•••

"Jimin! Hey!" Chanyeol screamed, causing Jimin to drop his keys on the floor.

Before he could pick them up, Chanyeol handed them to him. "Hey Chanyeol." He smiled. He hadn't noticed how awfully comfortable he'd gotten with him.

His heart still raced, but it was tolerable. Chanyeol still made him a bit nervous but Jimin could finally carry a conversation without stuttering or blushing as bad.

He didn't know if this was a good sign or if it meant his crush for him was slowly disappearing. He quickly tucked that thought in the back of his head.

"I meant to catch you after class but got held up with Johnny."

"Oh what's up? Do you need tutoring again?" He casually asked.

"No. Actually, I think I'm doing okay for now. Although it would be nice to study together after we get back from fall break. We better enjoy it while we can."

"Oh I know. Believe me. It's only a week but hey Christmas will be right around the corner so we have that week to look forward to."

"For sure. Speaking of Christmas..." he started digging in his jacket until he found what he was seeking for. "Look what I have."

Jimin took two tickets from his hand. It was colorful  with a large Christmas tree and snow on it. The thick red words read 'Come enjoy a wonderful light show 12/24/23!'

"It looks like fun." Jimin commented with a smile clearly not understanding the motive.

"Yeah. So what do you say?"

"Say to what?" He asked, perplexed.

Chanyeol cracked a teasing smile turning his head to the side, "You sure are clueless aren't you? I'm asking you out."

Jimin immediately gripped the tickets, his eyes getting bigger. His heart was racing and his knees suddenly felt weak.

This is the moment he had been waiting for. This is what he dreamed of for months and yet his brain was foggy. His mind was blank and he couldn't speak.

Say yes! Say yes!

But his tongue didn't move. His eyes were directly on Chanyeol and he attempted to relive the moment he first saw him. He tried to feel the emotion and connection that he once felt. It was still there, but it was dimmer now.

Was this what Chanyeol was going to ask him that day at the restaurant? Had he ruined it by getting drunk and ending up hungover the next day?

Jimin wondered what his reaction would've been that night. Before all the drinks, before he saw the message come across Chanyeol's screen.

"Hey don't work yourself up. It's okay if you don't want to." Chanyeol said.

"No it's not that. I...I've just been waiting for this moment but I don't mean to be nosey. It's just that...the night we went out to drink I saw a text message from someone named peanut." He admitted embarrassed.

Chanyeol chuckled, "Ahh! That's my sister. I was asking her to buy the tickets and that I'd pay her back. I swear that's my sister. I can call her if you want." He said, quickly taking out his phone.

"No, no, I believe you." He said. Chanyeol was honest and someone that was lying wouldn't willingly offer to call that person.

He suddenly looked down at his hands noticing he was still crumpling the tickets. "Oh fuck! Sorry! I'm so sorry." Jimin noticed they were wrinkly now and he felt awful.

As he handed them to Chanyeol he stepped back shaking his head. At first Jimin thought he was angry until he met eyes with him. They were still soft and gentle.

Jimin was the angry one to be honest. He didn't know why he was hesitating so much when this is what he wanted all along.

"How about you keep them as a reminder yeah? I hope to hear from you soon and I truly do hope you say yes. Have a good fall break Jimin." He leaned over, pressing his lips on his cheek.

Jimin held his breath until he backed away and headed to his car. He brought his hand to his cheek and pressed it lightly.

Chanyeol kissed his face. Chanyeol asked him out.

So why was his brain fixated only on Min Yoongi?