Third Person POV:

5 Years Ago:

Bogum had never seen Jackson so furious, nor had he seen Taehyung so broken and that's why he decided to leave both of them on their own, till they figure it out themselves. 

The three of them had been so happy and so close once but look at them now, they were falling apart so cruelly. 

Time changes everything. Bad times especially.

After roughly two hours during which Bogum roamed around the neighbourhood, he decided to give Taehyung a call. He knew Jackson would've gone home but he couldn't say the same for Taehyung, he actually has no idea where Taehyung went. 

Since the sun had already set and the night sky had started appearing, he was getting anxious. They had to go to the cottage too. Daegu could be quite dangerous at night and he couldn't afford losing Taehyung or something bad happening to him during their stay at his grandma's house. 

Bogum was the one who had invited Taehyung to his grandma's house. It was Jackson's brother's death anniversary so Taehyung had agreed, wanting to visit the grave. 

Now if something happens to Taehyung, Bogum wouldn't be able to forgive himself. 

His anxiety started kicking in when Taehyung didn't attend the call even on the fifth try. The call went right to voice mail, the setting sun made his heart beat faster, cold sweat forming on his forehead as he thought of the worst possible scenarios. 

He decided to give Jackson a call at last, at times like these, he could only rely on him. 

"Hey! Jack?"

"What?"

"Are you with granny?"

"Yeah! Why?"

"Is Taehyung there?"

"No!" With that being said he hung up. Bogum stared at the wallpaper on his slightly scratched screen, Jackson was still mad and Taehyung was no where to be found. The day couldn't go any worse. 

Bogum tried to think of the places Taehyung could have gone to.

Park? No. Too crowded.

River side? Maybe.

The cave on top of the hill? Yeah!

Taehyung always went there when he had to think about something. It was a secret between the four of them.Bogum mentally praised himself for thinking of the place among all the chaos in his mind.

He started running toward the mountain, it would take him almost thirty minutes to get there so he had to hurry, if Taehyung really was there, Bogum would be relieved. There was few to none people in that area of the mountain but on another thought, it might be dangerous too. Who knows what Taehyung will do if he's left alone. 

Bogum wanted to cry at this point

After about a not so short trip to the top of the hill, he started calling for Taehyung. The sun had long set now, making it harder for him to see in the distance, he fumbled with his pants' pocket and turned the flash on once he found the phone he was looking for. 

Among all the branched and twigs lying on the floor, the noises of the insects and birds, he was looking for Taehyung.

"Taehyung!"

"Are you here?"

He almost tripped on the rocks lying here and there, swearing under his breath, he continued his search. Bogum let out a heavy sigh once he found the cave, entering the small cave he shouted Taehyung name wishing for a response.

However,

Trigger warning⚠⚠

What he saw next made him halt his steps. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Taehyung laid there near one of the giant rocks. His hands covered in red blood.

The blood started from his arms and ended near his wrists. His shirt was also covered in patches of blood.

Under all the blood he could see the marks and cuts lining his arms. Their were countless bruises that littered both of his hands.

Taehyung was barely conscious, lips pale and face a faded yellow, his head head lolling to the opposite side, dangling loose. Only his subtle breathing accompanied with Bogum's surprised gasps and heavy pants were heard in the silent cave.

Next to Taehyung rested a blade. The blade was painted in blood. Taehyung's blood. Bogum was no fool, he knew what this meant. He knew right away that Taehyung cut himself.

It seemed like Taehyung sensed his presence because he exhaled sharply, getting a hold of his ganging head and looked up with half-lidded eyes.

The moment their eyes met, Taehyung flinched visibly, shaken up that someone saw him in this state, Bogum saw him like this. The aforementioned male shook his head in disbelief, taking few steps back slowly.

Taehyung tried to cover his arms but the damage was already done.He had never planned to go to this extend but meeting Jackson just trigged something inside him and he lost control. He did something he never planned to do. He had decided to quit it a month ago. But he did it anyways.

Bogum was also not supposed to see him like this . Not when he was at his most vulnerable state. Not when he couldn't think straight.But once again fate decided to play with him.

"You are sick! Taehyung." Bogum whispered out. That was the only thing he could speak out. He looked at Taehyung's state from head to toe, glanced at the patches and stains of blood surrounding him, it made him sick. It made him want to throw up. 

Taehyung stopped covering his hands when he heard that, he looked up at Bogum in disbelief, Taehyung was almost convinced he had made that up in his mind, that Bogum didn't just say that. 

"You are fucking sick! YOU NEED HELP!!"

Taehyung couldn't believe what he just heard. Although he knew Bogum would not react positively but he didn't know the other would be this disgusted either.

"YOU NEED THERAPY."

Bogum half-shouted , half-cried.

Seeing someone you love so dearly in such a state really brings out the worst of you. Doesn't it? That is what happened to Bogum, he repeated those words to himself like a mantra, almost as if he was speaking to himself and not Taehyung. 

That was the last straw. Taehyung's vision started to fade. The shades of grey and light shades of black he could see started to blend into darker shades of blacks.

He felt his anxiety kicking in, his breathing became irregular and the world started to spin.

The last thing he saw was Bogum worriedly calling out of him before his whole world turned black. Before he passed out right there and then.

.

.

.

Taehyung fluttered his eyes open to some familiar distant voices. It took a while for his vision to become normal, the eyelids adjusting to the blinding light.

He didn't know where he was and the people who were constantly bickering in the background hadn't acknowledged his presence yet.

Taehyung closed his eyes again, since his head throbbed terribly and the loud voices weren't making it any better. He wanted to reach out and run a hand on his for head but he couldn't, it was like his hands were tied. 

Then it hit him, the white ceiling, the smell of disinfectant and the weird feeling on his hands, he was in the hospital. 

After some concentration he could finally make out what the people around him seemed to be saying.

"Jimin? Why are you looking at me like that again?" Seokjin's voice laced with disbelief and he seemed sort of hurt. Taehyung smiled subtly as he caught on how the two brothers might be fighting about something again. 

"Why are you here too, hyung?" Jimin mumbled in a small voice.

Hearing his response, the said male gasped and Taehyung heard a chair falling down. He guessed Seokjin must've stood up from his seat.

"So now you say this to me? After all I've done for you?"

"Its not like that."

"Then what us it like? Am I not invited here?"

"This isn't a party hyung. We are in the hospital---"

"Both of you shut up! Taehyung is up." Hoseok snapped at the duo. Taehyung flinched as he was the center of attention now, previously a bystander blending in the surrounding. 

All of the people present in the room turned their heads to Taehyung who was lying on the hospital bed.            

Taehyung  blink-opened his eyes once again and looked around himself. He found a total of 7 heads staring right at him with worried eyes.

"Oh? TAEHYUNG" Jimin shouted which earned him a slap on the back of his head.

"Ow! It hurts Hyung." He retorted rubbing his head, glaring at Seokjin who had hit him. 

"Don't shout! You prick!" Seokjin reminded the aforementioned. Jimin ah-ed in realization and rubbed his nape in embarrassment. 

"Hey, Tae. You okay?" Yoongi who had been silent the whole time spoke up and Taehyung smiled slightly in return, genuinely happy seeing him there. 

"You're up?" Bogum awkwardly asked and that got his attention. Bogum is here too? Wait! Where the hell am I?

"Why are you so quiet Jungkook?" Hoseok asked the lad who was sitting beside Taehyung silently staring and everything and everyone.

"Oh! Umm...you're here Tae?" He was spitting nonsense right now . All of the other noticed but no one questioned it.

"No, he is fishing in Mr. Lee's backyard pond." Yoongi stated with a poker face. Sarcasm dripping from every single word he spoke. Hoseok just sighed at that. But he quickly shook his head and started speaking.

All of then were shocked when they found out about Taehyung's condition and wanted to ask a lot of things but Jungkook strictly warned them not to talk anything about his self-harm. He knew Taehyung won't be comfortable talking about it and it might stress him out further and worsen his condition so talking to him about that in front of all was a big no.

After about half an hour when all of then had had their moments with the male lying on the hospital bed, a comfortable silence settled between them.

"They will now get going, Tae!" Jungkook announced, gesturing at the gossiping boys and everyone looked at him, stopped doing whatever they were doing. 

Tad bit scared of the foreign stares he just witnessed, he continued "Don't look at me like that. The doctor said only one hour is allowed right?"

All of them nodded in unison and left one by one after speaking some courageous words to Taehyung.

Bogum tried to stay but Taehyung still hadn't recovered from the words he spoke to him back in the cave. That's the reason he politely declined his suggestion. Jungkook was a tad bit suspicious about all that but remained quiet.

Jungkook decided to stay. He couldn't leave Taehyung after all he had witnessed in the matter of two days. After all he had a lot to ask from the other which he couldn't do in front of their friend group.

After an awkward silence during which neither of them spoke Taehyung cleared his throat but instantly regretted when the pain seeped in his throat.

"W-water." He croaked out with much difficulty. Earlier, he had not talked too much, just did the listening. 

"Oh! Yeah! I'll get it."

After helping Taehyung drink water, he sat back on his original position.

"Who brought me here?" Taehyung questioned in a small voice not daring to hold eye contact with the other.

"Bogum did."

"Oh!"

"You were out for three days" Jungkook said with an expressionless face and a voice void of any emotion.

"Oh!" Taehyung just said in response.

"Jackson visited too. He said he was sorry. Although I don't know what the hell he was sorry about."

"Really?" Taehyung asked the other with wide eyes in return to which, Jungkook nodded .

"He was crying. And when someone asked him about it he would snap at them."

"Oh" Taehyung frowned hearing that and fiddled with his bandages that were hiding his sins. Protecting his vulnerability.

Jungkook stopped him by holding his hand gently and looked at him desperately.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered out and Taehyung felt like crying all over again.

"W-What?", he decided to play the innocent card since it always seemed to work on Jungkook.

"Anything...Just something." Seems like it won't work anymore on Jungkook.

Gently tracing his fingertips on Taehyung's bandaged arms , he continued "About this."

Carefully wiping the tears that threatened to escape Taehyung's beautiful eyes he croaked out " And this " he gestured to his tear stained eyes. The eyes that once held the galaxies however right now it was hard to find even a star in them.

"I-I couldn't. I'm s-sorry."

Retracting his hand from Taehyung's cheeks, he shifted in his seat and Taehyung followed his movements.

It was more than evident that Jungkook was anxious about asking something.

"When did...you...um...start c-cutting yourself again?" He stuttered out with much difficulty. He was really cautious around him, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable in any sort of way.

"Are you disgusted?" Taehyung cut straight to the point, not beating around the bush making Jungkook widen his eyes. 

"What? Why do you---" 

"Do you also think I'm sick?" The male lying on the bed didn't let Jungkook speak.

"Who the hell told---"

"Do you think I'm crazy?" He cut him off again, staring out the window, not even meeting his eyes, a sad smile residing on his face.

"Taehyung, what are you saying?" Jungkook stood up, taking Taehyung by the shoulders and gently turning his around so that they were face to face.  

"If you think so--" Taehyung stared up at the raven head, holding his tears back.

"I don't!!! I don't think you're sick. Why would I think that?" Jungkook raised his voice, lightly shaking him to make him come to his senses, since he seems to be losing that.

"I just happen to think that way." Taehyung shrugged and tried to dodge Jungkook's questioning gaze. 

Jungkook sighed and let it be. He would ask him once he recovers. Jungkook didn't want to stress him out further. It just didn't sit well with him.

He let go of Taehyung's shoulders not before caressing the skin a bit, earning a beautiful smile from the male below.

A smile he wants to protect at all costs. 

A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE!!