HEARTBEAT | VKOOK - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

3 hours ago:
A disappointed sigh left Jimin's lips as he dragged his fingers over his face, perched over his seat. A tranquil silence settled in the room, the only noise being the shuffling of papers as Jeongguk arranged the files scattered on the desk, enjoying the silent nightfall whilst Jimin stared at him in disappointment.
"I don't get it," His deep auburn eyes then flickered to the window from the younger's back, fingers carding through his blonde locks, "Why can't you just accept it?"
Jeongguk simply shrugged nonchalantly, too immersed in his work to be paying attention to the older, "I won't unless he says it himself." He glanced over his shoulder at the male who merely rolled his eyes, "You're just wasting your time here, you should leave."
"I'm not leaving without you, gguk." His eyes flickered towards the younger who had his back turned to him, facing the large shelf as he scanned through the pages before placing the file back and picking another one, "Its storming anyway, I'll drop you off when you're done."
"Then stop bothering me and let me finish this." Jeongguk muttered, pulling out a drawer and checking through the items. He picked up a pen and began scribbling something on the printed sheets, seemingly focused. Jimin rolled his eyes, rising from his seat on the leather couch of Taehyung's office, looking around, "How long will it take? Almost everyone has left and I guess we're the only ones here."
"You can wait outside, I'll be done in a few minutes." He responded, eyes never leaving the papers on the desk, tongue poking out as he filled the white page with utmost concentration.
The side of his lips twitched slightly as he exhaled softly, glancing at the younger, "Well, if you need any help I'm here."
"No, it's fine. I'm almost done." Jeongguk hastily arranged the remaining papers on the desk, a sigh evoking his lips once he was done with his work and satisfied, "You can leave, I'm coming."
Jimin wordlessly lifted an innocent shoulder and turned away, heading for the door, a slight click resonating through the room once he was out. A hushed quietness invaded the atmosphere once the older left, the room no longer filled with a certain high-pitched voice that couldn't cease complaining even for a minute. Even though a part of him was glad that he wasn't alone in a vacant colossal building, it still bothered him how the older wouldn't shut up for even a damn moment, and let him finish his work in silence.
Once he was satisfied with his work, Jeongguk was quick to flick the lights off and leave the office, locking it afterwards. Jeongguk had no idea what time it was, but he surely knew that it was too late to be out at this hour. It wasn't his fault his boss dropped a shit ton of work on him and left— or maybe it was at some point, as he wasn't energetic as usual, feeling a bit slothful. Of course, it couldn't be the same every other day.
A ding ricocheted through the elevator, Jeongguk stepping out and heading for the main doors, pulling them open just to see the blonde male waiting in his car, scrolling through his phone. He pursed his lips for a moment, before shrugging off the thoughts— skimming towards the dark blue car without a second thought. Although regretting his decision later when he drenched himself on the way, hastily pulling the car door open and slipping inside.
The blonde male next to him flinched at the loud noise, wide eyes snapping up at him, startled and surprised, "Woah, y-you're back... I didn't notice."
"Of course, you wouldn't." Jeongguk rolled his eyes, brushing away the bangs from his eyes and fixing his clothes— pausing and pursing his lips into a thin line as a disappointed sigh left him. A scoff evoked from Jimin's lips as he started the car, the engine roaring to life, "Stop being mad at me already, its not my fault it took you so long just to come down."
"Its not my fault either, blame it on your jerk best friend who simply wants to get on my nerves at every fucking chance he gets." Jeongguk grumbled, exasperated. Brows furrowed as he focused ahead, soft pants escaping his parted lips.
"Relax, he's not that bad." Jimin muttered softly, eyes never leaving road as they drove out of the perimeter, and got onto the high way. "That's just the way he is at work, but outside, he's a nice guy."
A scoff of disbelief evoked from his lips as he looked out the misty window, "Of course, you'll take his side." The side of Jeongguk's lips twitched, unfazed, "Such a nice guy who dumps a load of work on me, so much that I had to fucking stay behind."
A breathy chuckle fled the older's lips, "You're special." He paused, shifting the gear,"He doesn't do that to everyone, there must be a reason for that." His eyes flickered to the younger male for a split moment, "Or maybe, you did make a mistake to deserve it."
"This conversation is getting nowhere." Jeongguk deadpanned, lips pursed, and eyes fixated on the view ahead, "Its pointless even talking to you about this, you'll just keep on taking his side and defending him regardless of his mistakes."
Jimin grinned softly, "I'm not defending him, I'm just saying because I know him. He's just that way. You'll need to deal with it." It was almost past midnight, and the roads were pitch-black and vacant— the soft drizzling of the rain being the only sound in the atmosphere besides the roar of the engine.
"And I bet he's been way far nice to you since the past few weeks, hm?" The soft look on his face crumbled to a frown, eyes narrowed as he focused ahead, seemingly suspicious of something, yet Jeongguk didn't bother to care.
"Yeah, but that's only-" It happened all to quick for him to catch up, and the only thing he recalled was the sudden loud blare of the horn, followed by a blinding light, before he slipped into the void of endless darkness.
An ear deafening silence enveloped the atmosphere, engulfing it in seemingly inevitable nothingness. Despite being so quiet, it felt so loud— as though screaming at him, blaming him for all that has happened— even if he wasn't the one at fault.
It felt overwhelming, all the emotions and thoughts running through his mind felt awfully overwhelming. He seemed desperate for an escape from his own self, but he knew at the end of the day, he'd have to face it all again. Perhaps, he might have slipped into a deep trance, wishing for it to be a nightmare, a trick of his own mind.
Unfortunately, for him, none of it was.
The door twisted open with a click, pulling him out of his sudden daze like a glass shattering to pieces. Taehyung's face remained blank, despite all that had happened— yet, his heart thudding in his chest in sheer panic and anticipation, awaiting the worst. He rose from his seat as a man donning a white apron and a stethoscope around his neck walked into the waiting room, a notepad in his hand.
His friends, Seokjin and Hoseok, who were there to comfort him rose from their seats as well, unnoticed by Taehyung who seemed way more lost in his own mind to think of anything. They both shared concerned glances as Taehyung stepped forward, approaching the doctor who had a pair of spectacles resting over the bridge of his nose.
"H-How is he now?" His voice was hoarse, and deeper than usual, perhaps due to being silent for so long, as he had lost count of the hours he'd been here since last night. The doctor looked up from the notepad, and scrunitized him for a moment— Dark circles under his eyes, shaped like small crescents; eyes puffy and red from all the crying; hair and clothes disheveled— Taehyung was an absolute mess.
"You are?" The doctor queried, raising an eyebrow, to which Taehyung struggled to find the right words for his relation with Jeongguk, simply choosing to go with the first thing that crossed his mind, "Lover, I-I'm his. . I'm his lover."
The doctor paused for a moment, staring at him with a pointed look, before flickering his gaze down to the notepad in his hand, "Well, if you're talking about Jeon Jeongguk, he's stable now, but he still hasn't woken up yet. I can't say anything more for now, he needs to wake up within the next fourty-eight hours for us to confirm his condition." The doctor paused for a moment, looking down at his notepad, "As for patient Park Jimin, he's perfectly fine now, and he's awake. You can see him now."
Hoseok walked over to them and placed a comforting hand on Taehyung's shoulder, "Thank you so much, doctor."
He offered a smile in return, eyes turning to small crescents, "No problem," His gaze shifting back to the notepad, a moment of silence seeping in as he scanned the page, the smile soon dropping as he pursed his lips for a moment. He then looked up to the three, eyes flickering between each one of them before setting over Taehyung, "Can you please come with me for a second?"
The other two exchanged conflicted and worried gazes, whilst a soft frown settled on Taehyung's face, slightly taken aback. A gentle smile spread onto the man's lips as he reassured, "Don't worry, its nothing too serious."
Nonetheless, Taehyung nodded wordlessly, anxiety creeping up under his skin as he followed after the doctor, being escorted to a secluded area. The doctor then turned to him, eyes scanning the board in his hand for a moment, What's wrong, doctor?"
The man pursed his lips for a moment, the conflicted look on his face causing Taehyung's heart to race as he braced himself for the worst, "I have noticed something."
He met Taehyung's eyes, "I'm not sure if you know this but, there are a lot of scars on his body and it's very concerning."
His face paled at the unexpected statement, mind turning blank, "They seem as if he's had them for a very long time, although I'm not exactly sure. It's very concerning regarding his mental health, and he has lost a lot of blood in the accident, which is why he's still unconscious. I'm not sure if he'll be able to wake up within the next two days, as his condition is very weak."
A tense look etched on his face as he blinked, lips agape— meeting the doctor's eyes a moment later, "Will he be okay?"
His eyebrows creased as he  glanced down at the board in his hand, pushing up the spectacles resting over the bridge of his nose, "I can't assure anything at the moment, but all I can say is that, he's better now, we just need to wait till he wakes up."
Taehyung then averted his gaze away, a soft breath fleeing his parted lips as he nodded, eyes flying up to meet the other's, "Can I see him?"
"Of course, he's still unconscious, but you can see him if you want." Taehyung face lit up at that, eyes sparkling as he thanked the doctor, showing his gratitude and appreciation for saving the boy's life, which earned him a soft smile from the doctor in return.
When the doctor left, he then headed straight to Jeongguk's room— twisting the doorknob open and stepping into the bright white room, a heavy feeling settling in his heart at the sight of various wires stuck onto Jeongguk's pale skin, a machine next to him monitoring his heartbeat. The sight of the bruises littering over his skin made his chest constrict, tears stinging in his eyes as he scanned the sleeping boy.
Taehyung stood there for a moment— unmoving, simply observing the male from a distance— heart heavy with guilt and regret of leaving Jeongguk behind. And he blamed himself for it. He shouldn't have punished him, he should've just let him go, instead making him do the work and stay behind. Taehyung regretted his decisions, how he was such a fool. He could've almost lost him for his own stupidity.
Just like his wife.
No, he couldn't allow that. He couldn't lose someone again for his own damn mistakes. His mind screamed at him, thoughts clouding his mind as he stared at the boy, sleeping peacefully to the tranquil silence around them. He seemed peaceful, like an angel from heaven, unaware of what had happened, seemingly in a deep slumber.
Taehyung slowly approached him, eyes blank— almost as though he were dead, stopping next to the bed for a moment, before taking a seat on the stool next to it, scanning his face. The small cuts and injuries left a guilty feeling in his heart, tears welling up in his eyes as he simply observed the boy, "I-I'm sorry, Jeongguk." He whispered.
"Its my fault." He bit down hard onto his bottom lip to suppress a sob, yet the tears cascaded down his cheeks like waterfall, without his consent, voice cracking, "Its my fault, I shouldn't have told you to stay behind. . I-I'm sorry." He breathed, a broken look present on his face, "I'm sorry you had to go through all this. . because of me."
He dropped his head, wiping away the tears staining his cheeks with his palm, biting onto his bottom lip. He looked up again, eyes red and puffy as he tilted his head, a soft look appearing in his eyes, "Please wake up."
His breath ragged, voice shaky as more tears streamed down his cheeks, "I'm sorry, I promise I'll never do that again, just please. . wake up."
Just then, a muffled ding went off through the eerie silence that occupied the room, the device in his pocket vibrating, and snapping Taehyung out of his trance. It baffled him for a split second, a soft breath fleeing his lips as he placed his hands on his thighs, feeling for his phone before pulling it out from his pocket.
The screen lit up with a message on display, causing Taehyung to freeze for a good second as his face paled, breath catching in his throat as he caught the name of his father on the screen. He furrowed his eyebrows as he clicked on the message, the confusion rising up to the surface when he read the words 'come to my office now.'
He stared at the screen for a second before switching off his phone and shoving it into his pocket, thinking it must have been another one of his business issues, or his trick to force him onto the marriage issue, although he thought that matter was cancelled and forgotten for good. Perhaps, not. But he could deal with him later.
He exhaled slowly as he studied Jeongguk's face, eyes softening. The side of his lips twitched as he swiped his tongue over his bottom lip, wiping away the tears staining his cheeks with his palm. He swallowed harshly, a pained look flashing in his eyes as he tilted his head, staring at the boy for a moment, before shifting his eyes slowly towards his fingers.
Without thinking twice, he reached out and intertwined their fingers together on the bed, his chest contracted at the mere action. His eyes darted to the sleeping boy, who had his eyes closed peacefully, breathing slowly through the oxygen mask. He exhaled deeply, lips turning crestfallen, "I'm sorry, Jeongguk."
He gazed at him longingly for a moment, licking his bottom lip as he contemplated his thoughts, yet in the end, listening to his heart instead. He leaned closer to Jeongguk, pressing his own cold lips to his forehead, closing his eyes shut. It was just a small peck on the forehead that lasted only for a moment, before he retracted himself, eyes fluttering open as he observed the male with a saddened look.
The door clicked open, startling Taehyung who snapped his head back, surprised. His eyes met Hoseok's, who walked in with a phone in his hand. His condition wasn't anything different from Taehyung— eyes red and swollen, lips turned down in a crestfallen frown, nose runny and slightly red. Although he may appear strong and tough, Hoseok had a soft spot in his heart for his close friends, so much that even the thought of something happening to them scared him to death.
Hoseok glanced at the boy on the bed for a moment, not failing to notice the way Taehyung held his hand, before meeting his eyes, "Taehyung," He spoke, the side of his lips quirking up as he regained his composure, shifting his eyes towards his phone, brows knitting slightly, "Your father called me a while ago, and he's pissed."
"He wants to see you now."