Sorry I've been gone for so long! I didn't mean to take forever.

I wanna put some kind of a trigger warning, because this sort of covers the topic of eating disorders and depressed thoughts. I'm not sure what qualifies as triggering though, since I've never suffered from an eating disorder. If any of you feel a bit uncomfortable, maybe just skim ahead as far as you need. Not much happens in this chapter that's super important other than the trip to Seoul, and giving insight to Jimin's mind.

Also, things spoken in Korean are italicized (save for a few emphasized words in English sentences- which should be obvious when you read them).

Jimin

"I'll be back, I'm gonna go get all my stuff from the bathroom," Y/n says, opening the door.

"Okay," Jimin says, folding his last shirt and laying it in his tiny suitcase. The suitcase and the clothes were provided by the police after they finished searching his parents' house for evidence and stuff. It's not much, but it will suffice for now. Not only does he have enough clothes to last a few days, but he has his friends that will lend him some when he needs. And a washing machine.

Jimin feels a buzzing through the air mattress and turns around to see Y/n's phone next to the folded sheets. On the lit screen is a picture of some guy with dirty blonde hair making a face at the camera, and written across the top is the name Kieth.

Jimin remembers that Y/n told him Kieth was her work friend and made her laugh when she was sad. Jimin picks up the phone and stands up to take the phone to Y/n, then freezes in place.

Why does he always take the phone to her when someone is calling or texting? He can answer, right? Y/n wouldn't mind. Besides, Jimin has yet to meet Kieth, and he's curious about him.

Jimin hits the answer button and presses the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Oh, you're not Y/n, is this not a good time?"

"She's packing her stuff," Jimin says. "Did you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to check in. She's not very good at keeping in touch."

"Oh. Well I can go get her and see if she can talk."

"No no it's okay. If she's packing, that means you're getting ready to go somewhere," Kieth says. Jimin has no idea what to think of this guy yet. He seems polite. "Wait a minute... is this Jimin?"

"Uh-huh, that's me."

"Oooooohhh I've heard a bit about you," Kieth says. "Not much, and only right before she left, but you're her boyfriend, right?"

She didn't talk about me? Jimin frowns.

"Yeah. I've heard about you too," he says. Should he try to come off as nice, or should he not do that yet? So far he still can't tell if Kieth seems happy to meet him or not. Maybe nice is the best way to go.

"Thank you for taking care of her," Jimin says, dropping his voice a little. "She still won't tell me much about what happened, but she did talk about you."

"Really? I'm flattered. Anyway, I have to go now. Tell Y/n to call me later."

"Okay..."

"Yeah..."

Silence.

Kieth ends the call. Jimin pulls the phone away from his ear, a little pout on his face. That was awkward. What did he mean he didn't hear much about Jimin? Did Y/n not like to talk about him? Maybe he should ask her about it later.

On Y/n's lock screen are a couple of texts from Kieth from around ten minutes ago. Jimin opens the phone to read them out of curiosity.

Kieth

Hey Y/n, how are you?
You haven't been updating me on what's going on, are you okay?
Should I take it to mean you're having a good time?
Screw it I'm just gonna call you

It's basically nothing. Jimin should turn off the phone and set it down, and tell Y/n about the call later. He should zip up his suitcase and get ready to leave.

Jimin scrolls up. There's a photo of him from when he and Y/n were in the hospital. He remembers the photo, and Y/n saying she was showing Kieth what Jimin looked like.

Kieth

[photo]

Oh my god he's literally a piece of art
I see why you missed him so much

Pfft that's not why she missed me. Jimin thinks. But it seems that Y/n didn't say as much, because there's no text after that.

At least, I'm sure that's not why she missed me. Jimin thinks, frowning. Because if so... there's no way she's gotten back what she wants. Jimin wraps an arm around his stomach securely, hugging himself close, as if to prove to himself that there's no fat.

There isn't any fat. Which is good. He doesn't want to gain any.

Jimin turns the phone off. He didn't scroll through much conversation and he's already filling himself with doubts. He should just steer clear of the phone.

The door opens and Y/n walks in with a mini toiletry bag in hand.

"This is all I have left to pack and then we are good to go," she sings, walking to her pack. She puts the little bag in with the rest of her stuff and zips up the suitcase.

"Kieth called," Jimin says. Y/n tosses him a weird glance, as if it's strange to hear that.

"Kieth? Now?" She asks. She plops down on the air mattress and grabs her phone. "Huh. What did he want?"

"He just wanted to catch up. He wants you to call him later."

"Oh." Y/n turns her phone off, not texting Kieth an answer, and tosses it aside. Jimin leans back into the air mattress and gives her a little pout.

"He says you didn't really talk about me much," he says. Y/n's warm expression disappears to be replaced with her default somber one. She makes that face a lot, even when no one's talking about anything sad. She makes that face when she's sleeping. When she's looking at her phone. When she thinks no one is looking. Sometimes she stares at Jimin, lost in thought, and she has that expression on her face.

He wishes he could read her mind to see what's bothering her so much.

"That's because..." Y/n trails off, unsure of what to say, and leans down into the bed next to him.

"Kieth didn't know you existed until a few days before I left America."

Jimin furrows his eyebrows at her, an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "Why?"

"Because I... I just... the whole time you were gone..." she takes a moment to find her words again, eyes on the ceiling. "Because it was too painful to talk about you," she says. "And the only reason he found out was because... because I broke down in front of him."

That makes Jimin feel worse. His absence seemed to have affected her life for the worse and it was all his fault. If he could have just... done better... at... he doesn't quite know what, but if he did something better, none of this would have happened.

"We went to the park, since why not?" Y/n continues. "I hadn't been out of the house with anyone in days. And he turned on his music and we talked and then... there was this one song that played..." Y/n grimaces as she remembers it. "It just... reminded me of you. So I cried. And he took me back to my house because he didn't know what to do, and mom told him what happened."

Jimin turns on his side to face her and wraps an arm around her waist.

"Oh," he whispers. "I'm sorry."

"None of it was your fault."

"It was, though, Y/n, I-"

"Chim, none of it was your fault. You're not changing my mind about that." Y/n opens her eyes and turns her head to look at him. "You're here now. And you're perfectly alive. And I am very very happy about that."

Jimin smiles a little. He's happy about her being happy to see him again. He has no doubt in his mind that she would never not be happy to see him, but when she says as much, he feels better. It makes him think that it doesn't matter whether or not it was his fault.

Jimin scoots closer to her and snuggles into her side. "We have a few moments alone before someone comes to tell us it's time to leave," he says. He kisses her cheek. "Let's just stay here like this."

Y/n turns the rest of her body to face Jimin and nods.

"Okay."

•••

"PARK JIMIN!"

Jimin doesn't know how he got back here. He keeps coming back to this same spot every night, and he can't escape.

"Jimin I've told you time and time again to STOP HIDING from me every time I come up here!"

Jimin wedges himself into the crevice between the wall and a stack of boxes. He shouldn't be able to fit, but he's been starving and throwing up for so long that it isn't that difficult.

"I'm giving you to the count of five. If you don't show yourself before then, I will come find you myself and you will regret it."

Jimin tucks his head down and covers his ears, terrified of what's to come but still hoping to delay it as long as he can. Maybe, just maybe, he can hide this time.

"Five."

Mother begins to walk around the attic in search for Jimin. The old wood creaks and groans beneath her feet.

"Four."

Jimin curls himself into a tighter ball, wishing he could just disappear and never be found again.

"Three."

The footfalls get louder the closer they get to Jimin's hiding spot, and he can feel it through the floor.

"Two, last warning Jimin. I'm coming to get you."

Y/n. Jimin remembers Y/n. She will come to help him, won't she? She will. She'll save him. He just has to wait.

Jimin whimpers as a shadow obscures the light, meaning his mother has found him. He flinches when he hears her voice right in front of him.

"One."

The last thing Jimin feels is the nails digging into his wrist as he is yanked out of his hiding spot before everything goes dark.

"Jimin?"

Jimin opens his eyes. Instead of sharp nails in his wrist, he feels soft hands encompassing one of his own.

"Ah, there you are. You fell asleep and looked like you were having a rough dream."

Jimin blinks his eyes a couple of times to get rid of the sting of sleep.

"Hm? I'm okay," he says. He stretches his limbs and leans into Y/n's shoulder, still tired.

They're on a train. Namjoon and Taehyung sit across from Jimin and Y/n, separated by a table.

They said their goodbyes to Bongcha and Minji this morning and got on their train by eleven. Jimin is excited to reach Seoul and see the rest of his friends again. It's been so long since he's seen them, and he wants to introduce them to Y/n.

"We got snacks," Y/n says, pointing to a small pile of vending machine food on the table. She reaches for a small bag of pretzels and holds it out for him. "We've still got thirty minutes left before we get to Daegu."

Jimin eyes the pretzels hungrily but doesn't make any move to reach for them. He wants them. He's starving. But he shouldn't. He should wait. He was hungry for breakfast earlier too but he skipped it, making up some excuse on how it makes him feel sick to eat too soon after waking up.

He doesn't like being hungry. It just means it'll be much harder to skip meals.

Y/n takes Jimin's hand and places the pretzel bag in it, her smile gone.

"Just take it," she says. Her voice is the same, light and happy, but her eyes communicate something much different. She's exhausted. She's been trying so hard.

Jimin knows she notices. He won't tell her a thing but he knows she's piecing it together. She has always been perceptive like that.

For her sake, he pulls his mask down and opens the bag of pretzels, thinking it'll be okay to snack on them just this once. He's starving.

She seems a bit happier after that.

•••

Jimin holds Y/n's left hand in both of his, fiddling with her fingers and lifting her hand to his lips to press a gentle kiss to the back of it every once in a while through his mask. The rest of the train ride consists of bored conversation with the other two and dozing off a couple more times.

Y/n is worried about that, too. Jimin is always tired. He has hardly any energy at all, whether he has just woken up or not. For now, he can say it's because he just recovered from a nasty fever and is still healing from his wounds. And he just woke up from a ten month long coma.

Later, that excuse may not work so well, but Jimin thinks he might be better by then. There's no way he'll be like this for forever. No, he has Y/n. Her mere existence gives him hope for a bright future.

And he wants that future. He wants it so bad. Whatever dark days he had before and is having now don't mean a thing, because Y/n holds the key to his heart, and he trusts that she won't ever let it go.

He loves her.

Jimin looks at the side of her face, wondering what she's thinking about. Her eyes keep closing and she keeps wavering in her seat- she's just as tired as he is- but she probably has a million things on her mind.

She's always thinking a million things.

Jimin brings her hand up to his lips once more and kisses the back of it gently. Please don't worry about me. He thinks. I'll be okay.

As if hearing his thoughts, she turns her head and looks at him, gives him a smile, and squeezes his hands. Then she looks out the window behind him.

When the train comes to a stop, Jimin feels more excited than he was before, which should keep him awake for longer. He's about to see one of his friends again. After almost a year and a half.

It doesn't feel like a year and a half.

While Jimin waits for the okay to start getting off of the train, he can't stop bouncing his knee up and down like a pogo stick, his heart hammering in his chest. He can't wait to get out there.

"I'm gonna see Yoongi hyung again!" He murmurs as quietly as possible to Y/n. "I haven't seen him in forever!"

Her eyes crinkle with a smile, and she rests her head on Jimin's shoulder lightly. That's her way of showing her affection, he knows. She's a very touchy person, because that is her love language. Every hug, every kiss, every time she scoots closer to him or holds his hand or rests her head on his shoulder, she's saying "I love you" without actually having to say it.

It feels nice, knowing that she doesn't have to say anything, and doesn't leave any room for doubt.

He doesn't deserve her.

Jimin kisses the top of her head through his mask and closes his eyes, wrapping his arms around her. When he's holding her like this, eyes closed, focusing only on her warm body and light breathing, he feels much calmer. She calms him down.

Jimin wonders what it would have been like if she was there when he woke up from his coma. He was quite out of it and knocked up on drugs meant to calm him, but he remembers when they told him they didn't know who Y/n was.

He doesn't remember it clearly, but he does remember throwing things and fighting the nurses until they pinned him down. He remembers being so confused because he couldn't understand why the doctors were speaking Korean when he thought he was still in America.

He remembers the way he felt, thinking Y/n wasn't there because she didn't love him anymore, or something bad happened to her too, or that maybe she was never even real at all, which the doctors said was a possibility.

Jimin had no way of knowing whether or not those four months in America were real.

Waking up after ten months tends to mess with one's mind.

"Okay, looks like we can get off now," Namjoon says. Jimin opens his eyes and the quiet calm is gone. Yoongi must be waiting on the platform for them. The excitement returns with full force, wrestling a smile onto Jimin's tired face and making him shake with anticipation.

Y/n stands up and follows Taehyung and Namjoon toward the exit, hand still clasped in Jimin's. Jimin follows her close behind, an eager bounce in his step as he goes.

On the train platform, dragging suitcases behind them, they walk until they find a clear spot to look around without being in anyone's way. Jimin turns his head this way and that, looking over everyone's heads to try and find Yoongi.

"Ah, where is he?" Jimin wonders aloud. "He's here, right?"

"PARK JIMIN!"

Jimin flinches, because he doesn't like hearing his name yelled like that, but then his recognition of the voice makes him forget all about it. Jimin lets go of his suitcase and turns around, a huge smile on his face, to see Yoongi jogging up to the group from behind. His face is half covered by a mask and his head dons a black beanie, but Jimin recognizes those dark, slanted eyes in an instant.

He lets go of Y/n's hand to meet Yoongi halfway, heart beating in his chest like a drum.

"Min Yoongi!!!" He exclaims. He opens his arms for a tight hug and almost jumps onto Yoongi, but Yoongi holds his hands up to stop him.

"Uh, calm down before you hug me," he says. Right. He has boundaries. Jimin carefully wraps him in a hug, trying to stifle his excitement, and Yoongi returns it.

"Hyung I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too Jimin. And enjoy this hug while it lasts, because I'm not giving any more after this."

Jimin gives Yoongi one last big squeeze and then lets go. "It's been forever!"

"Yes it has. I'd ask you how America was but you came back in a gurney so I don't think it was that great."

Jimin shakes his hand and grabs Yoongi's arm, pulling him toward the group.

"It really wasn't but I met Y/n, so I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Yes, Y/n. I met her a few weeks ago when I drove her and the boys here from Seoul," Yoongi says. "I can't believe she flew all the way over here to find you."

"She's special," Jimin says. "I love her a lot."

"She's good for you. I think she's sweet."

Jimin's smile brightens. Yoongi likes her, which is good sign. Jimin looks at her when he pulls Yoongi into the group. She gives him a tired smile. She and Jimin went to sleep late last night, so she's probably really tired. Maybe he should stop keeping her up so late. They've got things to do when they get to Seoul.

For now though, it's time to hang out with Yoongi hyung before they have to leave Daegu.

•••

After spending a few hours in Daegu, everyone is back on a train headed for Seoul. This one isn't as nice as the last one. There are no tables between the aisles, and the seats don't face each other. Namjoon and Taehyung are on one in front of Jimin and Y/n.

With Yoongi, they went out to eat together at a barbecue place. It had been so long since Jimin had had a proper Korean barbecue, that he couldn't help himself and gorged out on good food. Y/n seemed to like the place too, which Jimin was nervous about since the food here is so different than the food in America. She doesn't seem to be a picky eater though, so she's okay.

Jimin felt fine at the restaurant, but now, on the train, alone with his thoughts while Y/n dozes off on his shoulder, he feels guilty. He feels so, so guilty. He was doing so good at watching his weight before, and now it's like he can't control himself. His stomach hurts, which makes sense because his diet has just undergone a crazy change, but he's still hungry. Starving, actually.

So he feels guilty.

Why can't I control it now? He wonders. It was so easy before. I need to fix this.

Jimin closes his eyes and leans his head back, guilty and sad and angry with himself. He knows he needs to get back on track, so he doesn't gain weight, but it's so hard. Y/n has already seen him at his worst. There's no need for her to see him gain weight now too. He won't let that happen. What will she think? She'd probably regret coming all the way across the world for him when he's so messed up.

As if she can hear his thoughts, she moves in her sleep, crossing an arm over his stomach to hug him.

Jimin looks down at her head perched comfortably on his shoulder, and takes a deep breath.

She's not like that. He thinks. She would never look at me like that.

He knows it's true. He knows she'll love him no matter what. Yet... he feels guilty still. And embarrassed. Even knowing that she would never judge him, he feels like she deserves better. Thinner. Healthier. More handsome.

Jimin's eyes sting with tears. It's time to stop thinking now. Thinking is dangerous. The more he thinks, the harder it will be to hold back tears.

I'll fix myself, Y/n. Just give me some time.

•••

When they get off of the train, it's late in the afternoon. The sun is low in the sky, though it's only about a quarter past five.

Jimin is so tired. All he wants to do is find a bed to crash in and pass out. They're on a bus to get to Namjoon's place faster so they can drop off their luggage and then hopefully, get some well-needed rest.

Namjoon turns his head over his shoulder to look back at Jimin and Y/n. "Almost there," he says. "Get ready to move again."

Jimin nods and squeezes Y/n's hand, relieved that they're so close. They ride along in silence for another five minutes before the bus pulls to a stop and the doors open.

Oh thank god we're here! Jimin thinks. He clutches his suitcase handle and Y/n's hand and gets up, wobbling a little on his tired legs. Gray spots dance across his eyes and obscure his vision, only to clear up a moment later. Jimin shivers. His face and hands are cold. Stood up too fast.

"You good?" Y/n asks. "You look a little dizzy."

"Mhm." Jimin steps into the aisle after Namjoon and Taehyung and pulls Y/n along after him. "I'm okay."

Jimin is so ready to go to sleep when they reach the apartment that he's practically trembling while Namjoon struggles to remember his passcode.

"Hold on..." Namjoon mutters. "It's a new code. I think I might have it in my phone."

Jimin leans into the wall and lets go of his suitcase handle to run his fingers through his hair. Just a few more minutes of waiting, and then he can go to sleep.

A few minutes feels like forever.

Namjoon finds the passcode in his phone and pushes it into the keypad, which chimes approvingly and unlocks the door. He opens the door and walks inside, then holds it open so everyone else can get in with their suitcases.

"Taehyung, when are you planning to go home?"

"I'll leave later," Taehyung says. "I've got stuff to talk about with Jimin."

Jimin shuts the front door behind him and slips his shoes off.

"You guys can have the same room Y/n had last time," Namjoon says. "I'm gonna go unpack and everything." He pushes his suitcase handle into the case and picks it up so he won't get his dirty wheels on the clean floor. "Oh, and Hoseok's shift at the studio nearby ends at seven, so we're gonna take you to see him before the day is over."

Hoseok? Jimin's gonna see Hoseok again tonight? Forget rest, he wants to see Hoseok again. He wants to see all of his friends again.

Namjoon disappears down the hall to unpack his stuff. Y/n picks up her own suitcase and nods toward the hallway. "Our room's down there too," she says. She leads him down to the end of it and through a door to a dark guest room. After she flips the light on, Jimin takes one look at the bed and decides that it will be much comfier than the one he slept on at Bongcha and Minji's place.

"Oh it's so warm," Y/n sighs. She sets her suitcase on the floor in the corner of the room and unzips the front pocket to find her charger. "Which side do you want?" She asks, gesturing toward the bed.

"Same as always," Jimin says. He plants his suitcase next to hers and then launches himself onto the bed. "Mmmm," he hums, pulling the covers back. "This is definitely an upgrade."

"Oh for sure," Y/n agrees. "No more bouncy air mattress." She gets up and walks to her side of the bed to plug her phone in and rest it on the bedside table, then sits on the mattress and looks down at Jimin.

"D'you wanna nap?" She asks. "You look so tired."

"If I go to sleep now, before we leave to see Hoseok, I'm going to regret it later."

"Think you can hold off that long?"

Before Jimin can answer, he hears a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Taehyung opens the door and steps inside. "It's about time you take your medicine," he says. Jimin lifts his head up and glances at his suitcase, then lets his head fall back into the bed again.

"It's too far. I'll take them later when we get back."

"You'll forget."

"You won't."

Taehyung sighs, then walks over to Jimin's suitcase and unzips it. "I'll get them for you then," he says. Jimin hears the sound of Taehyung rummaging through his stuff, the rattle of a pill bottle, and the zipper again.

Jimin glances at Y/n, who is on her phone again, and then sits up to face Tae, whose eyes are on her as well.

"Have you told her about these?" He asks, handing the first pill bottle to Jimin.

He hasn't told Y/n about the medicine.

Dr. In prescribed antidepressants and told Jimin that he should find a therapist to deal with the trauma of... well, everything. From the childhood abuse, to the trip to America, to the ten month coma, to the horrible wounds and fever he woke up to. Jimin can't do that though. He can't afford a therapist. He's basically homeless at the moment and has no way of earning any money.

He feels so useless. He has no family, he's technically a grown-up, he can't get a job, he's gonna have to retake his last high school year, and he needs serious help that he can't afford.

Not to mention, Y/n is going to need to go back home sooner or later. And Jimin doesn't want to be separated from her, which means he is going to follow her. Which means he needs the money for a plane ticket. Which means he needs to get some sort of job.

But what can he do?

Every goddamn thought in his mind these days sends him spiraling into an oblivion of helplessness and dread, and he feels so useless and stuck.

"Hey, Jimin?" Taehyung asks. "You in there?"

Jimin snaps out of his thoughts and nods. "Uh, what?"

"Medicine. Have you told her about it?"

Jimin glances at Y/n again before answering. She's still on her phone. Probably because she doesn't understand anything they're saying.

"I haven't. I don't want to yet."

"I think you should. She wants you to get better just as much as the rest of us."

"Yeah I know. Which is why I don't want to tell her why I have to take medicine like this. She'll only get more worried."

"Why, do you feel guilty about it? You know she understands."

"I know. But... I dunno. I still don't know what happened to her while I was gone."

"So it's a trust thing?" Taehyung asks, eyebrow raised.

"What?! No it's not a trust thing. It's just... I... she's got her own trauma to deal with and I... I think... I feel too dependent on her and..." Jimin frowns. "Look, I haven't told her yet because I don't want to. Just leave it at that."

"Okay then take your pills already."

"I need water."

Taehyung sighs. Then he flinched and reaches into his back pocket to pull out his phone, which is buzzing. "Oh- it's the doctor," he says. "I- here," he hands the phone to Jimin. "Since it's for you. I'll go get you some water."

Jimin takes the phone, happy for some excuse to stop talking to Taehyung about medicine, and answers it as his best friend leaves the room.

"Hello?" He asks.

"Is this Jimin?"

"Yes."

"I've called to tell you about the results of your blood test," Dr. In says.

"Already?" Jimin thought it would take a few days to get those back.

"Yes, already. Are you in a place where we can talk about them?"

"Um..." Jimin glances at Y/n, who is staring back inquiringly.

"Who is it?" She asks. "Is it the doctor? Did he get results?" She looks hopeful. He doesn't want to tell her about this.

He doesn't want to talk to the doctor while Y/n is in the room, if they are going to talk about tests that probably came back with bad news. Regardless of whether or not she can understand what they're saying.

"No, hold on, lemme go somewhere private," Jimin says into the phone.

"It's my brother," Jimin says to Y/n. "Taehyung told him we were coming to Seoul."

"Oh okay," she says, deflating a little bit. But then her smile returns. "He's here too, right? You'll get to see him again soon."

Jimin smiles and nods. "I'm gonna take this call somewhere else, kay? So I can talk to him."

Y/n nods. "Okay, you have a good call. I'll just be here."

Jimin hates how easily she believed him. The lie tastes bitter in his mouth, and he feels guilty about it already. He kisses her forehead, as if to make up for it, then leaves the bedroom and locks himself in the bathroom.

"Hello? I'm back," Jimin says.

"Alright," the doctor says. "It is up to you, but I would advise that you have someone in the room that can listen in with you. Like your friend Taehyung, perhaps?"

Jimin rubs his lips together. Dr. In has been Jimin's doctor for almost two months now, from the moment he woke up from that coma, to now. He seems to understand that Jimin doesn't want to share his problems with other people, even if it means ignoring those problems completely.

"Um, he's busy doing something."

"Oh. Is there anyone else?"

"Only Y/n, but she doesn't speak Korean."

"Okay. Then I guess I can speak to you alone. But you'll have to promise me you won't shut yourself in like before. Can you do that?"

"Yeah. Yeah I promise."

"Okay. So, for the blood tests. You seem to be perfectly healthy, almost. You are recovering quite well from your wounds, and you have already recovered from that coma of yours."

"That's good," Jimin murmurs. He watches the shadows of Taehyung's feet under the door as he returns down the hall to his room, with water.

This call needs to hurry up now.

"Yes, that's good," the doctor says. "No infections or other sicknesses or anything, and your organs are all functioning just fine. However," Jimin shuts his eyes and holds his breath, waiting for the other side of that however.

"I had your blood go through Albumin, CMP and CBC tests, among many others, and found that you are staggeringly low on proteins and other important things."

"What... what does that mean?"

"It means you need to eat, Jimin. All of the tests that came back told me that your body is suffering from severe malnutrition."

Jimin opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. The shadows of Taehyung's feet go back down the hall again to look for him.

"Hey, listen," Dr. In says calmly. The tone of his voice makes Jimin want to cry. He doesn't know why he wants to cry.

"I understand that you have just recovered from a bad fever along with that coma and you had an awful time with your parents, who didn't feed you much," Dr. In says. For a moment, Jimin thinks that the doctor believes there is an appropriate excuse for him not eating.

"But that starvation is something you should have recovered from by now. Is there something you want to tell me? Are you doing okay?"

Jimin covers his mouth as a couple of tears slide silently down his face. He isn't doing okay. Yet he feels so guilty for feeling that way and he isn't sure how to break out of it.

"Jimin? Are you there?"

"I-I'm here."

"When are you planning to leave Busan? Do you think you can come in again?"

"We- we left today," Jimin says, trying to keep his voice down.

"Oh. Well in that case. I suggest you get another doctor while you're in Seoul. It looks to me like you need help."

Yes, he does. He needs it more than anything. But he can't afford it. Not while he's so dependent on everyone around him. He hates it.

"That is all I needed to tell you," Dr. In says. "I'm afraid I have a tight schedule and I cannot stay much longer."

Someone knocks on the bathroom door. Taehyung has found Jimin.

"I hope you can find help soon," Dr. In continues. "Again, I think you should tell your close friends about this. They can help you, I promise."

"Mmhmm," Jimin hums, though it's hard to push a simple hum out of his throat. He's so choked up, trying his best not to break down.

"Before I go, I do have one request," Dr. In says. "Eat something, okay? You need it more than anyone."

"O-okay," Jimin murmurs. Taehyung knocks on the door once again.

"Promise me?" Dr. In asks.

"I will." Jimin says. He won't.

"Okay. That is all. Have a good night, Jimin."

"Mhm, you too."

Dr. In hangs up. Jimin sets the phone on the floor.

Knock knock. Taehyung probably wants his phone back.

"Jimin?" No, that's Y/n's voice on the other side. "You okay?"

Jimin stands up, wipes away the tears, and looks at himself in the mirror. Only a few tears slipped out. Not enough to redden his eyes and make him look any different. She won't be able to tell.

Jimin is wrong. The moment he opens the door and she sees his face, she knows.

She doesn't say anything. She simply wraps her arms around him and pulls his head into her shoulder.

Jimin can't hold in the rest of his tears. There's no point now. He sniffles and squeezes his eyes shut, unsure of what to do with his hands as his tears seep through her shirt. He feels so weak. He's tired. He's starving. He's thirsty. And he's crying. He lets his arms hang limp where they are. His head feels so heavy, with a headache pounding in his skull.

Y/n leans against the doorframe, bends her knees, and slowly brings Jimin to the floor. She sits with her legs strewn out on the ground, Jimin between them, leaning against her with all of his weight. With the shift in positions, his head rests instead against her chest. She strokes his hair and rubs his shoulder comfortingly. He grasps her shirt tightly in his fist.

Another hand rests against his back. Jimin opens his eyes to see Taehyung sitting crisscross on the floor next to Y/n. How long has he been there? He picks up a glass of water and holds it up for Jimin.

Jimin closes his eyes again, furrowing his eyebrows, and lets out a pitiful sigh. Then he sits up, Y/n's hands pausing to let him, and takes the water. As he takes his first sip, Taehyung takes one of Jimin's pill bottles spills one out.

After he takes his pills and finishes his water, he lays back down against Y/n, who continues to play with his hair and rub his shoulder.

No one speaks. No one asks if he is okay, because it's obvious. He isn't. No one tells him it will be okay, because it won't be. Taehyung knows he got off the phone with the doctor. Y/n thinks it was a call with his brother.

There is already so much wrong here. And sitting on the floor in the bathroom door is uncomfortable, but Jimin doesn't want to move.

So he stays there. And so does Y/n. And so does Taehyung.

Jimin falls asleep.

Again, I am so sorry about being gone so long. I promise you I will finish this fic. I don't know how long it will take, but I won't just ditch it and leave you hanging. I'll try to get the next chapter to you soon.

Have a good day/night.<3

-L