We gape in disbelief at the TV, words unable to leave our mouths as we see an unconscious Jungkook sprawled out in the ring, with a bunch of medics surrounding him until Jimin yells.

"Hey! I wanted to do that!"
You glare at him, before turning to the others who were staring at the TV, frozen.
"We need to go there. Now."
You say, pushing past them and grabbing your jacket.
"Come on!!" You yell as they looked at you, stunned before Jin nods, running to get his car keys.

The commentators on the TV blares through the speakers in the house.
"This is unbelievable! The infamous Jeon Jungkook has lost his title to the Russian champion! He doesn't look too good, he's still knocked out. The medics will be taking him to the hospital for now, to get him checked up."

"Which hospital?" Taehyung asked, who had been unusually silent uptil now.
"I know the place. All boxing knockouts are checked up in Seoul's private hospital. They're affiliated with the boxing organisation, I'll show you the way." You say, voice wavering as you skip down the steps and your heart pounds in your chest.

Jin rushes to his car, fumbling with the keys before pushing it in and unlocking the car. Everyone piles in as you stay near the window, with Jimin in the center and Taehyung on the opposite side. Yoongi sits in the passenger seat as Jin revs the car engine to life, pulling out of the driveway and looking at you through the mirror.

"Y/N. Where's the hospital?"
He asks, no signs of calmness in his voice.
"Yangji Hospital, 1636 - Seowon-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul."
He types it into the car's GPS and you lean back into your seat, staring at the objects that zoom by.

What's going to happen to him? He's never experienced a knockout before.

The other times he's lost his title is only because of points difference.

A knockout is a whole different scenario.. an element that brings shame to your career.

~*~°~*~°~*~°~*~

Everyone rushes into the hospital, confirming Jungkook's presence there by the ambulance parked outside.
The five of you walk past the register lady, who yells after you but to no avail.

You spot a familiar figure and make your way towards him.
"Dr. Kwon!"
You exclaim as he looks up from his notepad, standing up from his seat and shaking your hand.
"Y/N! Long time no see.."
He eyes the others, and turns to you.
"I'm guessing you're here for your brother.." he says, his tone more cautious than before.

You nod with pleading eyes as he points to the chairs outside a certain room.
"Room 7."
"Thank you so much." You say, as everyone bows and makes their way their, taking their place on the seats.

During that period of waiting, the aura of fear begins to set in, taking over your mind as multiple nurses walk in and out of the room your brother laid in.

During that period of impatient waiting, that's when fear begins to settle in you as your eyes never leave the nurses that rush in and out of the room your brother laid in.
In your life, fear was a prominent emotion that embedded itself into your mind and actions.

You would be afraid when those old fears ran through your head, when you hear the taunting laughter of years past, when you were a skinny kid and the punchline of teenage jokes throughout middle school.

You would fear when those bad memories cut loose their chains and invade your confidence, eroding the person you have built since those dark days.

But you've never felt the fear of losing someone. Never.
Of course, you were judging everything based on the lifeless pale faces of the nurses that paced in and out of the room, but this was your brother.

The two of you may have never gotten along but you were siblings by blood, an unbreakable bond.

Worry began to course through your veins as you tap your foot impatiently against the floor, leaning over your chair to try and get a glimpse of what was happening in that chaotic room.

A hand catches hold of your shoulder and you turn towards the person.
"Y/N.. calm down. You're stressing all of us out. He'll be fine, stop worrying so much."
Jimin says, eyes boring through yours with an unreadable expression plastered on his face.

You stare at him for a few seconds before glancing at the others.
They looked at you in concern before their eyes are averted behind you, standing up immediately.
You turn around to see the remaining others run into the hospital, past a frustrated receptionist when they see you.

"How is he?"
Hoseok asks, taking hold of your shoulders with panic evident in his voice.
"W-we don't know.. they haven't told us anything yet."
You let out, voice barely above a whisper.

Namjoon walks towards the slightly ajar door, trying to peek inside when the door is slammed shut and he jerks back abruptly, muttering a string of unheard curses before taking a seat next to Jin.

Everyone waits, their finger nails almost non-existent anymore as you groan. You trusted Dr. Kwon, he was the one that treated you for your knockout in the very same hospital, but you couldn't handle the wait anymore.

As if on cue, Dr. Kwon steps out of the room with a notepad and his blue coat still on. Everyone jumps up, with expecting eyes as he begins to speak.
He sighs, eyes not lifting above his notepad.

"As you may have seen from the match, Jungkook was hit in the temple and jaw. Two extremely sensitive areas for knockouts when it comes to boxing, as you may know."
He says, glancing at you.
"In this case, Jungkook's temple has caused more damage than it has to the jaw. It appears that the area is unusually oversensitive due to possible previous injuries in that area."

Your gaze lowers, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

Of course, dad was always too harsh..

Dr. Kwon continues.
"One of the four bones at his temple fractured inward and lacerated the middle meningeal artery. It caused an epidural hematoma, essentially a collection of blood that builds up around the brain and compresses it."
Everyone gasps and all the air is pulled out of your lungs when you hear his words.

The doctor holds up his hand, silencing everyone.
"You're lucky that the hospital was close, or we wouldn't have been able to save him. We made an incision to draw out the blood and temporarily repaired his meningeal artery."
Everyone breathes in relief, holding their chests as you bite onto your lower lip.

"What worries me about this is that a normal knockout does not cause this amount of catastrophe in a person. Ms. Jeon.. It appears as though he has been previously injured in this place before, and has caused this scale of an impact on him now."
You nod, eyes redirected to the floor and you squeeze them shut.

"Y-yes.. I know he has."
The other boys send you a knowing glance of sympathy, you had told them everything that would happen at home when you were kids.
Jimin just eyes everyone in confusion, as Dr. Kwon replies.

"He has to rest for a few months. It's imperative that he doesn't indulge in anything strenuous. He can't eat solid food or talk for the initial two weeks, because he might tear open his wound as the temple and jaw bones are connected. Which is why I request that he stays in hospital for a few days on drips."
Your eyes widen as you shake your head.

"But doctor! W-we have an event and Jungkook's the team coach, he has to-"
The doctor strictly holds up his hand and shakes his head.
"Impossible. You'll have to find another coach, because he is in no position to do anything as of now."
Your hands knot into your hair as you turn around facing the wall when burning drops of tears threaten to leave your eyes.

Crying is weak. You're better than that.

Squeezing them in, you face the doctor once more.
"C-can we see him?"
You ask, voice barely above a whisper.
He nods sadly.
"Yes.. he's asleep, he'll wake in half an hour when the drugs wear off."
Everyone steps into the room to see Jungkook laying peacefully on the bed.

The room was eerily silent besides the clockwork beeping of the machine he was connected to. You sigh, eyes travelling his resting body as you stand at the end of the bed.

How much more are we going to lose? Our family, our titles, our lives?

"Who's gonna take his place?" Jimin whispers as you shrug.
"I have no idea."
We stay in the room for sometime before a nurse comes in.
"Visiting times are over. Only one other person can stay the night with him here."

Everyone's heads droop, as Namjoon pats your shoulder in empathy. You kiss each of them on the cheek (except Jimin, of course) and they leave, all except one.
You turn around to see Jimin standing in the room, staring at you.

"What?" You whisper.
"I'm staying here." He says, as you shake your head.
"No way, I'm his sister. I'm supposed to be here."
"What about food? Blankets for the night?" He whisper yells.

Your skin tingles in agitation.
"Look, I know how to take care of myself. I don't need your pity, worrying about me. Just go.."
You say as he stares at you, unshaken.
"Y/N.."
"Jimin, I'm fine. Go on with the others."
You whine, afraid that a spurt of anger would pop up in you at any moment.

He shoves his hands in his pockets, looking at Jungkook and you before striding out the door.
You exhale in exhaustion.

Why's he acting up all of a sudden?

Your eyes linger in the hallway where you see Jimin's silhouette becoming smaller as he reaches the exit where the others were waiting. Shaking your head, you take a seat next to your sleeping brother as your gaze stays on his bruised hands.

You reach up, taking his brittle skin in yours as you hold his hand, something you haven't done in a long time.
The ever-increasing gap between the two of you breaks your heart.
You loved your brother more than anything in the world, but you also hated him the most.

You loved him for holding you close throughout the difficult younger years of your life, but you hated him for pushing you away when he was going through his worst.
You squeezed his hand, not too hard as you intertwined your fingers with his, resting your forehead on the rim of the bed as the burning feeling in your chest rises up your throat like bile.

Once more, drops of sorrow well in your eyes.

Crying is weak, Y/N. You're better than that.

That constant thought plays through your head like a broken record player, as you squeeze your eyes shut, pushing your tears away as you look up with a sniffle.

Laying down on the couch next to the bed, you leave your arm outstretched, still connected with Jungkook's hand as your mind begins to swirl, different colours invading your vision before morphing into a concoctional fantasy, drawing your broken mind away from this cruel world and into the abyss of laughter and joy, your land of dreams.