【 Jungkook 】

Upon finally regaining consciousness, you slowly began to force your tired eyelids to flutter open; immediately being greeted by the rather bright lights shining inside what you came to realize was a hospital room— though of course, it hadn't been all too difficult to figure out in the first place given your obvious surroundings, the beeping sounds coming from the heart monitor, as well as the oxygen mask, and amount of wires you were connected to

– not to mention the typical antiseptic scent which typically lingered inside hospitals.

However, as you tiredly let your eyes scan around the room you were in, the sounds of soft sniffles coming from a certain male whom you now noticed was sat beside your bed finally caught your attention; his head was lowered somberly whilst he whispered out a fairly quiet ''Come on petal— you can punch and scold me all you want... I just want you to be okay, p-please?''

The sincere remark somehow made it impossible for you to suppress the very faint giggle that now bubbled past your lips— which you immediately came to regret after feeling just how sore, dry and scratchy your throat currently was

Nonetheless, the faint giggle had still managed to be audible enough for the older to hear, as his head immediately snapped up to look over at you in surprise combined with a great sense of evident relief; so you bit back a weak smile which you flashed towards him, finding his genuine reaction rather cute as you made an attempt to speak up despite the painful soreness in your throat

Jungkook: P-Punch you? Hey now, why would I be doing that— I'm not that violent, a-am I?

As expected, your voice sounded quite hoarse and far quieter than it normally tended to be, though you still forced yourself to follow up the playful remark with another lighthearted one whilst simultaneously reaching over to gently nudge his shoulder— nearly hitting the IV connected to your hand against the bed's side rail in the process, but thankfully barely managing to avoid doing so; all thanks to the olders fast reflexes since he managed to protect your hand from the impact

Jungkook: Besides, all of that s-sounds a bit too violent for any patient to do in general, don't you agree?

This remark earned a breathy huff out of him while you slowly proceeded to make a weak attempt in sitting up, immediately making Taehyung instinctively jolt out of his chair to once again help you whilst also raising the bed's headrest so that you could lean up against it and sit more comfortably. However, you couldn't help but notice how he briefly turned away to make a not-so-successful attempt to secretly wipe away the tears which had been lingering on his cheeks, clearly in the hopes of somehow hiding the fact that he had been crying earlier; as if you hadn't already seen nor heard it.

Taehyung: H-how are you feeling Gguk? Can I get anything for you— n-no wait, I should probably call the doctor first, right?

In the midst of his jumbled babbles, and just as he was about to stumble up from his chair to assumably go fetch the nearest nurse or doctor passing by in the hallway— you shook your head reassuringly whilst swiftly reaching over to tug at his sleeve gently; stopping him from leaving your side as you looked up into his eyes

Jungkook: No m' fine, maybe just a little queasy... M-My throat also feels all sore and scratchy, though I think that part might've been obvious from my hoarse voice y-yeah?

He flashed you a faint smile as he hesitantly sat back down and nodded slowly— simultaneously busying himself by reaching over to the bedside table to pour up some water into a glass for you; gently helping you pull down the oxygen mask which had been covering your mouth and nose so that you could drink

Taehyung: Mhm... Don't force yourself to talk too much if it hurts a lot Gguk, the doctor said your throat and vocal cords are bound to be a bit irritated for a few days after the breathing tube was removed— but with rest, it'll feel better in no time!

Once you finished drinking the last bits of the cold water he had given you, a soft but content sigh escaped past your lips; because while it only temporarily had served as a brief relief to your scratchy throat, it still felt a tiny bit better after drinking something cold.

Though you inevitably felt a sense of curiosity soon creep up onto you, as seemingly so much had happened after your memories became a dark blur— something which the older was quick to catch on to, possibly from how your brows subconsciously had begun to furrow subtly from a mixture of confusion and curiosity at the thought of the chaos you accidentally must've caused, so he took it upon himself to bit by bit begin to explain everything that had happened up until this very moment

Taehyung: —and so after you were transferred to this ward, we've all been taking turns staying by your side while impatiently waiting for you to wake up Mr.Sleeping beauty.

You rolled your eyes slightly at his teasing remark at the end, yet let a smile tug at the corners of your lips; enjoying the pleasant warmth of gratitude that currently lingered in your chest, similar to how it felt like when receiving a warm and love-filled hug— which in a way, you had received from them all through their actions of warmhearted care

However, a puzzled frown began to paint your expression yet again after noticing how Taehyung's faint smile slowly began to subtly fade away as he shamefully lowered his head yet again— and you only grew all the more confused when the older suddenly whispered out a barely audible yet sincere "I'm so sorry Gguk"

Jungkook: Why are you suddenly apologizing...?

Taehyung: Well there's a lot I want to apologize for— but also clarify and correct... if that's okay with you?

He slowly ended up raising his head, but only just enough to catch how you slowly nodded your head reassuringly as a sign for him to go on. Though you could somewhat already assume exactly what this was going to be about, so your fists subtly clenched around the material belonging to the comforter that laid draped over your lower body— the previous soft smile on your lips also beginning to gradually fade as you anxiously bit at your bottom lip whilst waiting for him to speak up

Taehyung: First and foremost, I wanted to say I'm really sorry for all of this Gguk... Had I just done a better job at protecting you— then maybe this entire situation could've been avoided and you wouldn't have gotten poisoned...

You immediately opened your mouth to argue against his words, knowing damn well he had no reason to apologize for an unfortunate event so utterly unpredictable— yet he cut you off before you could even begin to speak as he continued on

Taehyung: –and don't say it's not my fault, because we both know that if it weren't for what happened backstage, then we wouldn't have been separated in the first place.

A soft sigh of defeat left your lips whilst you shrugged, maybe there was a tiny bit of truth to his words; but only in the sense that maybe you wouldn't have stormed off and recklessly drank something you got from a stranger without a second glance— all of which being your own faults, not his own.

Jungkook: Taehyung-sshi there really is nothing you need to apologize for, if anything then I'm the one whos sorry for reacting the way I did— and I fully admit it was rather childish of me to suddenly interrupt you, only to cause a small scene and storm off like that...

Taehyung: –no wait, listen... I want to clear up something important in regards to what you saw back there Gguk— I know those whispers and laughs you saw between me and him looked entirely like something else, a-and I genuinely don't blame you for assuming so either! But the truth is, we were actually just talking about his admiration for you back there... He confessed that he's a big fan of yours, and we just talked about this and that for a bit...

The older let out a soft sigh as he slowly ran his fingers through his hair, a faint and apologetic smile painting his lips whilst he whispered out a regretful ''I should've just ran after you and cleared it up properly right then and there, then maybe this wouldn't have happened''— immediately making you accidentally utter out a rather possessive remark, which you stopped yourself from finishing quite swiftly

Jungkook: B-but then why did he look all flustered when you—... a-actually never mind, forget about it... You have no obligation to try and justify yourself to me like this, and I'm sorry if my actions have made you feel forced to do so I—

In the midst of you clumsily trying to apologize for clearly overstepping during a time you actually should be reassuring the older that he had no reason to feel guilty, he suddenly interrupted you by blurting out a rather defensive statement

Taehyung: No but how could I not want to justify myself— wouldn't you also wish to do the same if your longtime crush unexpectedly witnessed you talking to someone in what ended up being misinterpreted as an act of flirting?

Upon letting his words process, your eyes slowly began to widen from surprise, doubting whether you actually had heard him right just now or if you had just imagined it. However, he himself didn't quite seem to notice just what he had said either as he continued on with his passionate rambles; essentially confirming that you indeed hear him right the first time

Taehyung: –like it's one thing to miss the chance to confess because your crush never knew of your existence back in Uni— then by some strange dumb luck cross paths yet again later on, only to accidentally mess it up again by having that same crush misunderstand you after seeing–

It was only now that he seemed to acknowledge the contents of his messy yet also oddly specific rambles, and so his widened eyes met your own through a look of sheer shock whilst he swiftly shut up; nervously gulping as you gave him a look of disbelief

Jungkook: ...H-hyung?

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