"This is what happens when you leave people behind, Taehyung."

Jungkook's voice echoed in Taehyung's head as he stared at Jungkook in shock and disbelief.

This can't be happening.

"What happened to you?" Taehyung finally managed to gasp out, reaching out a shaking hand to cup the side of Jungkook's face, who just shrugged it off.

It's been a while since you called, I'm speaking with a ghost now.

"Don't you dare go showing me affection now. It's too fucking late." Jungkook snarled.

Jimin was right. The Jungkook they used to know was gone. Instead, the grey walls of the institute had plagued his mind. He was far past redemption.

Taehyung looked Jungkook in the eyes, expecting there to be the same little glimmer of happiness that Taehyung saw when he first met Jungkook, but that was gone as well.

Jungkook was gone.

And when I spent that week, trying to find you out. Every night, every night it feels the same. And I spent those nights driving by myself.

"Why are you acting like this?" Taehyung asked, trying to crack through the shell Jungkook had created.

"Acting like what? This is always how I've acted."

Taehyung shook his head.

Overnight I fell apart.

"You were never like this." In response, Jungkook let out a fit of laughter, clutching the edge of the table until his knuckles turned white.

"That's because I was weak and vulnerable. Now I have defeated the weakness, and I'm becoming who I was always supposed to be."

"Who were you always supposed to be?" Taehyung inquired, trying to fight off the fear growing in the pit of his stomach.

Jungkook looked Taehyung directly in the eye, and smiled.

"I was supposed to be who ever you wanted me to be."

Now Taehyung was confused.

"Me? It was my decision?" He asked, anger slowly replacing the fear once Jungkook made his accusation.

This caused Jungkook to laugh again.

"You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Answering a question with a question. Very clever." Jungkook said, still grinning.

"Just tell me what it is that I don't know!" Taehyung demanded.

Jungkook merely shrugged. "I'm not sure if you deserve to know."

Every night it feels the same.

"That's bullshit."

"And so is this entire fucking conversation." Jungkook snapped, lunging forward and grabbing Taehyung's wrists.

"You need to listen to me, Taehyung!"

Taehyung tried to wiggle himself out of Jungkook's grasp, staring up at him in fear.

"Jungkook, you're scaring me."

"Well, now that sucks doesn't it! I don't care if you're scared, you need to wake up!"

You need to wake up.

Wake up.

"What?" Taehyung exclaimed, Jungkook's hands still tightly holding onto him.

"Wake up, Kim Taehyung!"

Suddenly, the building around them started to crumble. The surrounding chairs, the nurse, and all the grey walls disappeared.

Taehyung and Jungkook were left on a small remaining patch of concrete, staring at each other as the world around them crumbled.

Taehyung looked at Jungkook, silently asking him for help. This made absolutely no sense, and he was scared. He had walked into this building with the expectation of helping Jungkook, and now Jungkook was helping him.

"I'm scared." Taehyung whispered, trying to hold back tears that threatened to spill over.

Jungkook shushed him, slowly leaning forward and slotting his lips gently over Taehyung's. The feeling of shock and happiness distracted Taehyung from the feeling of Jungkook's hands crumbling off of his wrists, and from the feeling of everything else disappearing.

And when Taehyung pulled back, and opened his eyes, Jungkook was gone.

∆∆∆

Next, Taehyung was awoken to bright flashing lights and people shouting around him. He blinked his eyes a couple times to focus his vision, and found that he was lying down on a hospital bed.

Taehyung made a feeble attempt to sit up, but was immediately pushed down by a latex covered hand.

"Taehyung? Kim Taehyung?"

Taehyung glanced over, looking at the doctor who said his name.

"Oh my god, you woke up."

Taehyung looked around in confusion, also finding that his arms were bound to the bed, and saw that stitches covered almost all the surface of his forearms.

His hand was shaking as he held the blade against the soft skin, barely piercing the surface. But Taehyung knew, one swift move, and he could be bleeding out in about 10 minutes.

"Where am I?" Taehyung immediately asked, turning to the doctor who first spoke to him.

"You're at the Seoul Medical Hospital."

Taehyung let out another sob, digging the knife deeper into his wrist bracing himself for the quick pain.

Then, his phone started ringing.

"Nurse, call the Kim's residence, and tell them that their son woke up."

"You promised me Taehyung. You promised me you would never do this again."

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not. If you were sorry, you wouldn't keep on doing this."

Then, Jungkook hung up.

Taehyung continued to try and grasp the current situation at hand, because he could've sworn that he was just with Jungkook, and now he was in the hospital.

"Why am I here?" Taehyung shouted, panting slightly from the anxiety.

All the doctors and the rest of the staff in the room stopped exactly what they were doing, and turned to look at Taehyung. Some were sympathetic looks, but most were frightened looks, as if they had been caught.

The doctor from before, whom Taehyung assumed was in charge of the whole thing, slowly approached Taehyung's bed, resting a hand in his shoulder.

"Son, you were just in a coma."

∆∆∆

(Song - Speaking With A Ghost by Citizen)