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He only wanted to find a doctor.
Walking through the suffocating beige halls of the hospital, Yoongi shuddered as he looked around. His mother had sent him off to find a doctor to check up on his grandmother. She had insisted she was fine and could wait for her normal doctor to come around during his rounds, but his mom wasn't having it and sent Yoongi off to find one. They had started arguing by the time Yoongi walked into the hall, and it took him a lot of willpower to resist the urge to leave. It seemed that was all they did, even as his grandmother lay in a hospital bed, and honestly he wasn't sure how many more arguments he could sit through.
He only wanted to find a doctor, not a mysterious hallway near the back of the hospital with a warning sign above the doorway.
The mint haired boy stopped and squinted his eyes as he peered down the hall. Nothing stood out about it with the same white tiled flooring and beige colored walls as the rest of the place. But the air flowing through there felt cleaner, more serene than the frantic atmosphere in the hallway where Yoongi stood. Forgetting his original task, he slowly inched closer to the doorway and gingerly peered inside. There was no sign of doctors, nurses, or any clue as to what could be down that way. The only clue he had was the danger sign, and that barely gave him anything. All that told him was that is was "dangerous" to go down there.
The thing is, he liked danger.
A hand suddenly found his shoulder and yanked him back. He nearly tripped over his own feet as he came face-to-face with a doctor. "What are you doing?" he sharply asked. "Didn't you see the sign?"
"I was looking for a doctor," Yoongi said coolly. "My grandmother needs a check-up."
"Oh." The doctor stepped back, removing his hand from Yoongi's shoulder. "I can help with that. What room is she in?"
"Room 206."
"Okay. Let's go."
He waited for Yoongi to go first. Scowling, he begrudgingly began walking back towards his grandmother's room, the doctor following close behind him. He didn't risk a glance back at the hallway.
But that didn't mean he forgot about it.
Every time he and his mother would go to the hospital, Yoongi always found an excuse to leave his grandmother's room and venture to the mysterious hallway. He would stand in front of it, peering inside as much as he could without actually taking a step inside. In the end, someone would always be too close for him to actually sneak in.
Until one day, he found the area to be completely deserted. No doctors, no nurses, no patients. The only of someone being around was echoing from down the hallway.
The sound of a boy singing.
Curiosity fueled Yoongi's steps as he gingerly stepped into the hallway, looking around to make sure no one was around to stop him.
No one was.
Picking up the pace as to not get caught, Yoongi soon reached the corner where the singing was at its loudest. He peeked around and was met with disappointment at the sight of a door with a card scanner beside it, meaning only staff had access. He walked up to the door and placed an ear against it. There was no denying the singing was coming from inside.
The question was, what was a boy doing locked up in a staff only room down a hallway with a danger sign?
Yoongi stepped back, gazed at the card scanner, and nodded to himself. His family members always said he was crazy stubborn. Although they usually meant it in a negative way, he took pride in it. This situation was no different. He would find a way. He always did.
As he darted back into the main corridors of the hospital, one more thought crossed his mind. He tried not to dwell on it too much, not sure where it had came from or why he was even thinking it of all things, but even so he couldn't deny that it was true.
That boy had a beautiful voice.
He only wanted to steal a doctor's pass.
It wasn't so much "stealing" as it was "borrowing." He just wanted a pass to get through the door and afterwards he would give it right back. Plain and simple. Or it was supposed to be. Every time he went to the hospital, he would keep an eye for a careless doctor to leave their pass lying around or for one to fall on the floor. But it never happened, which frustrated him beyond belief. But honestly, what did he expect? It's a hospital. Everyone needs to be on guard.
He only wanted to steal doctor's pass, not overhear two doctors talking about a boy in the hospital who could never leave.
Yoongi felt immensely bad for this boy, whoever he was. Imagine being confined to a place as depressing as a hospital for your whole life. If it was him, he would've gone insane at that point. "It's about time I go check on him," one of the doctors said. "I'll see you at break." With a nod, the two doctors parted, going separate directions. Yoongi watched them with interest. Perhaps if he followed one of them, he could force the pass away from them without them even knowing what was happening. Not exactly the most discreet of tactics, but he was starting to get real impatient.
As Yoongi was about go after the other doctor, the one who said he was going to check on the hospital boy walked down the mysterious hallway. Yoongi was quick to run after him, darting inside as fast, and quietly, as he could. The doctor turned the corner, and when Yoongi peered around, he found the doctor taking out his pass and holding it up to the scanner. The light turned green and the door clicked open. "Good afternoon, Seokjin," the doctor greeted as he stepped inside.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Shin," a boy's voice politely greeted.
As Dr. Shin stepped inside, the door began to swing closed. Without much thinking, Yoongi ran forward and slid inside right before the door locked shut. He ducked behind a table and peeked around the side. He was in a large room, sunlight streaming in from the two large windows across from him that faced Busan. Metal tables with white tablecloths lined the back wall, various doctor tools laid out across them. On the wall hung paintings of beautiful and intricate landscapes; beach sunsets and twinkling nighttime forest skies that looked so real they might as well have been photographs. Dr. Shin walked up to a large pane of glass that split the room in half and smiled. "And how are you doing today?" he spoke to the glass.
Yoongi resisted the urge to gasp.
Behind the glass was a small room. A bookcase crammed with books stood in the corner along with a wooden table next to it. Loose papers, sketchbooks, and drawing supplies were scattered around the area, some even on the floor, sticking out from underneath the furniture. Drawings of landscapes and plants were plastered all over the wall. A closet and dresser occupied the other corner next to a bed, headboard pressed against the wall. But what he was focused on, sitting at a small wooden table in the center of the room, was a boy dressed in a white shirt and pants that fell three-quarters of the way down his legs. His raven black hair was pushed effortlessly to one side, long nimble and slight crooked fingers drumming against the table. Dr. Shin had addressed him as Seokjin.
"Just thinking," Seokjin replied to Dr. Shin's question with a shrug.
"About what?"
Seokjin's eyes flickered towards the two windows on his side of the glass. "Nothing..." he muttered, shifting his gaze to the countertop. Dr. Shin seemed to catch on, but didn't say anything about it. He only nodded and moved towards the back table, grabbing a syringe and heavily disinfecting the needle. Seokjin stood and walked towards the glass, holding out his left arm. Dr. Shin walked back and shifted a small pane of glass, revealing a hole just big enough for him to stick the needle through. Seokjin seemed unfazed as his blood was drawn, his nonchalant expression making Yoongi think this was probably routine for him.
"Later I'll come back and do a full check-up," Dr. Shin said as he replaced the glass and walked back to the table, putting Seokjin's blood into a vial. On the other side of the glass, Seokjin walked back to the closet and grabbed a bag of gauzes. He took one and pressed it to his arm, which had begun to slightly bleed.
"Thank you, Dr. Shin," he said. Dr. Shin looked back at him with a smile.
"Of course, Seokjin. I'll see you later." And with nod, he walked out, the door clicking shut behind him. Seokjin's smile fell as he threw the bag of gauzes back into his closet and kicked the doors shut, plopping himself back down at the table as he continued to press the gauze to his arm. Yoongi didn't dare move, starting to panic. What was he thinking coming in here? No matter how quiet he tried to be, Seokjin was definitely going to see him through the glass. What was he gonna—?
"I know you're there," Seokjin suddenly said, making Yoongi jump and stifle a gasp. Seokjin looked up from his arm, glaring out the glass with a hard tint in his eyes. "So come on out."
Yoongi didn't want to move, but the look in Seokjin's eyes was hypnotizing and, though he would never admit this out loud, a little scary too. He slowly rose from his hiding place and walked towards the glass. Seokjin didn't shift his gaze from him, the hard tint in his eyes never wavering. "How did you know I was here?" Yoongi asked cautiously.
Seokjin scoffed. "I'm not an idiot. This entire wall is made of glass. I could see you the entire time." He thought for a moment before scoffing again. "I'm surprised Dr. Shin didn't notice. Some hospital this is."
"Truly," Yoongi agreed. "I've never seen..." He gestured to Seokjin's enclosure, unable to find the right words for it. "This before," he finally said.
"You mean this glass prison?" Seokjin said, throwing the bloody gauze across the room.
"Well there must be a reason."
"A murderer is in prison for a reason," Seokjin said, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and his gaze on the tabletop. "That doesn't change the fact that he's still in prison." When Yoongi didn't reply (and frankly he didn't know how the hell he could reply to that), Seokjin looked up and locked eyes with him again. "To sum it all up, I die if I go outside."
Yoongi blinked. "What?"
Seokjin sighed before leaning forward. "Mast cell disease," he said. "Basically my body identifies everything as a threat, like severe allergies. If I go outside, even one step outside this prison, my body starts to attack itself and dies."
Yoongi was speechless. He had never heard of anything like that before. "How..." He cleared his throat. "How long have you had it?"
"Since I was born."
"You've lived here your whole life?!"
"Yup."
"Do your parents at least come and—?"
"They gave me up. They pay for my treatment, begrudgingly of course, but other than that, they don't care."
"So... you've never been outside?"
"Nope." Seokjin wistfully sighed, leaning back in his chair and gazing out the window. "But one day, I'm gonna go out there. I don't care if it kills me. It's better than rotting away in here."
Yoongi only nodded and gazed out the window on his side; out towards Busan, a place he had known his whole life but didn't know a lot about. He rarely went outside on his own unless absolutely necessary, purely out of laziness. And then there was Seokjin who physically couldn't. It must have been hard for him to watch the world through panes of glass, separated from it all because of a disease that he couldn't control. "I'm sorry," Seokjin said, snapping Yoongi out of his thoughts. He smiled. "You never told me your name, Stranger."
"Yoongi. Min Yoongi."
"I'm Kim Seokjin. Nice to meet you."
"'Seokjin' is too long. I'm calling you 'Jin.'"
Seokjin—or now Jin—blinked. "Like... the alcohol?"
"Why not?"
"In that case, I'm calling you 'Yoongs.'"
"Why?"
Jin smirked playfully. "Why not?"
He only wanted to see who was in the room.
The two boys spent over an hour talking that day. It was if the glass wasn't even there. They found they had a lot in common, from loving music to agreeing that it would be cool to own a pet lion. Yoongi's smile made Jin laugh, and Jin's windshield wiper laugh made Yoongi laugh, which only caused Jin to laugh harder, which made Yoongi laugh harder, and soon both boys were doubled over and resembling a tomato, which only made them laugh harder and... yeah, you get the idea.
He only wanted to see who was in the room, not befriend the boy who was being kept quarantined inside because he would die if he came into contact with anything outside of it.
It was funny, Yoongi was never one to quickly open up to people. But Jin was so charismatic and funny, immediately making Yoongi feel at ease. On the flip side, Yoongi treated Jin like a normal person, not something to be treated delicately. He made Jin feel as though he wasn't sick.
So Jin wanted Yoongi to come back, a request to which the latter was quick to accept.
And so he kept coming back.
"Why'd you dye your hair mint?" Jin asked one day.
Yoongi shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "I dunno. Just felt like it, I guess."
Jin sighed. "I wish I could dye my hair."
Yoongi was silent for a moment, watching his friend daydream with a wistful expression. "What color would you dye it?" he asked.
Jin thought for a moment before finally saying, "Purple."
"How... bright."
Jin laughed. "Says the one with mint hair."
"Whatever," Yoongi said, trying and failing to hold back a smile as he rolled his eyes.
"But don't you think purple's pretty?" Jin pressed.
Yoongi shrugged. "It's alright, I guess."
Jin stood from his usual seat at the table and rushed over to his bookcase. He pulled out a worn plant book and flipped through the pages before running back and pressing the pages against the glass. A large purple flower stared through the glass, the petals splattered with drops of dew that glistened under the sunlight. "Bellflowers," Jin said cheerfully. "Aren't they beautiful?"
"I mean, I guess..." Yoongi said. Jin sighed and pulled the book back, staring longingly at the pages.
"I want to see them like this," he said, tracing his finger along the picture. "Just after it rained, the sun shining through the clouds at a perfect angle..." He sighed. "That would be amazing."
"I don't get your infatuation with nature, Jin," Yoongi said. "We're in the middle of a city."
"You're in the middle of a city. I'm in the middle of a prison." Jin sat down in his chair again, fingers gently brushing the flower's petals as though it were the real thing and not a photograph. "To be honest," Jin started, "I think people take nature for granted. They're all so caught up in their own life that they don't appreciate the little things, like how the sun rises every morning or how the flowers bloom in spring." He looked up at Yoongi with a soft smile. "If anything, I'm hoping that you start paying closer attention to the world because of me. It really is beautiful."
"The world gave my grandmother cancer," Yoongi choked out, fists clenched in his lap. "And it gave you mast cell disease. How is that beautiful?"
Jin was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry about your grandmother," he finally said. "But in my opinion, I don't think the world gives humans diseases out of evil."
Yoongi scoffed. "What is it out of then? Love?"
"It's a way of getting people to stop and appreciate what they have while they have it." Jin smiled sadly. "We just happen to be the people it uses."
"It's not fair..." Yoongi said, a single tear spilling over his eyelid.
Jin shook his head. "No. But when is life ever fair?"
Yoongi made sure to hug his grandmother extra tight when he and his mom left the hospital that afternoon. He also made sure to go for a walk that evening, taking his time to look around and take notice of his surroundings. He noticed the way the tree branches would slightly shake whenever a bird landed on it, or how a dog's claws would lightly scratch the surface of the sidewalk, making a light scraping sound. When he walked by the playground, he paused when he noticed a patch of purple flowers growing near the fence. He kneeled down to get a better look.
Bellflowers, like in Jin's book.
"I have a surprise for you," Yoongi told Jin the next time he snuck in to visit. Jin gasped, sitting up in his seat with a wide grin like a child.
"What is it?" he asked. Yoongi smiled
"If I told you it would ruin the surprise." He winked and Jin groaned.
"Are you gonna make me wait three thousand years for it?"
"Jin, we would be dead by then."
"Yeah! And even when we're together in the afterlife, you still wouldn't tell me!"
Yoongi chuckled. "We're gonna be together in the afterlife..?"
"I hope so," Jin said with a smile. Yoongi's stomach somersaulted, heat rushing to his cheeks. He quickly turned and lowered his head so Jin wouldn't notice.
"You're so weird, Jin."
"I thought you already knew that, Yoongs."
"Whatever. Just look what I found the other day."
Jin softly gasped as Yoongi brought out the bellflower he had hidden behind his back. He brought it as close as he could to the glass without crushing the soft purple petals. Jin rested his hand against the glass, staring at the flower with watery eyes. "It's beautiful..." he whispered.
"It really is," Yoongi agreed in earnest.
"What I would give to touch it right now..." Jin said after a moment of silence, his voice cracking halfway. Yoongi's heart ached at the sound.
"I didn't mean to make you sad, Jin," he said. "I just saw it and thought of you and how much you'd—"
Jin laughed, shaking his head. "You don't need to apologize for anything, Yoongs. I'm happy. Really." He looked back at the flower and sighed. "I just wish I could hold it myself. Seeing something is a very different experience from actually feeling it, you know?"
"Yeah..."
The two boys stood in silence for another moment, staring at the bellflower. "Yoongs, break me out of here."
Yoongi snapped his head up, doubting his ears. But Jin was looking back at him, his expression nothing but serious. "What do you mean?" Yoongi asked.
"I'm sick of this, Yoongs!" Jin exclaimed. "I'm sick of reading about the world and listening to your stories and looking out a window and just imagining what it's like out there. I want to see it all. Feel it all. I want to experience it all for myself." He clasped his hands together as more tears surfaced, staring at his friend with unmasked desperation. "Please, Yoongs. I'm begging you. Get me out of here."
"Jin, do you realize what you're asking?" Yoongi said, a pit growing in his stomach. "The moment you come into contact with outside air, even if it's just in this room, your body will start to self-destruct."
"I know," Jin sobbed. "But Yoongs, there's nothing for me here. If I die in here without even trying to venture out..." He shook his head. "I'd rather die now, out there, than rot away in this prison."
"Jin, I can't," Yoongi said painfully, squeezing his eyes shut. "You have to understand. I'm not letting you throw your entire life away just to run around the city for a couple hours."
"Yoongs, please. I thought you'd understand."
"You're my friend, Jin. And I care about you too much to let you—"
"If you were ever my friend, you'd do this one last thing for me!"
"I can't!" Yoongi screamed, finally opening his eyes and letting the tears he had been suppressing fall. Jin, also in tears, was visibly taken aback and fell silent. "When you die," Yoongi said, his voice shaking, "it's going to be my fault. I'm going to be the one who broke you out and let you die when you were perfectly safe and alive in here. I don't want to see you slowly die out there. I just want you to be safe—" He sobbed. "And happy..."
Jin was silent as he watched Yoongi sob, burying his face in his hands as his shoulders shook. "I don't just want to see the world," he told him. "I want to be able to see you. Face-to-face. No glass between us." At that, Yoongi peeked through his fingers to find Jin looking at him with wet but earnest eyes. He continued, "I want to hug you, thank you for everything you've ever done for me. I've never been this happy, and it's all because of you. I can't properly thank you from behind glass. I need to thank you standing right in front of you."
"I don't want to watch the world take you away," Yoongi said after a moment, letting his hands drop. "That's too cruel."
"My fate was sealed the moment I was born, Yoongs. The only difference between dying in here and out there is that I'd be way less happy here." He looked out his window and smiled. "At least out there, I'd die happy... And free..."
Yoongi looked down at the bellflower still in his hand, the stem slightly bent from his hardening grip. The first time Jin told him about his disease and what it meant for him, Yoongi had felt bad that the boy would never be able to experience life outside his enclosure. Now there was an opportunity for him to do so, but it only had one outcome: Jin's untimely death. Yoongi had long ago decided he would do anything for the boy, but seeing him die in a matter of hours...
Was the adventure really worth it for either of them?
"Yoongs?" Jin softly asked. Tears spilled out of Yoongi's eyes as he came to a realization. A cruel, cruel realization. Without another word, he dropped the bellflower and ran out the room, attempting to muffle his sobs by placing a hand over his mouth.
He only wanted to spend time with Jin.
Despite the fact he was stuck behind glass, Jin had quickly become Yoongi's closest friend. There was more to it—Yoongi wasn't stupid enough to deny that—but he didn't feel the need to dwell on it as long as he had Jin as a friend.
He only wanted to spend time with Jin, not act out on a wish that would kill him.
With sunset fast approaching, Yoongi drove his car to the hospital, but didn't go to the parking lot. Instead, he drove to the side of the building and parked underneath a set of windows.
Windows that two people had grown to look out of frequently.
Leaving the keys in the ignition, he opened his door and stepped out. He left it open before opening the passenger door and leaving that open as well. There was a growing hole of dread filling his chest, knowing once they started there was no going back. But Yoongi pushed the feeling aside, his loyalty to Jin easily overpowering it.
"Jin."
Jin had been sitting on his bed, his back facing the glass. But once he heard Yoongi's voice, he sprung up and whipped around in surprise. "Yoongs!" he exclaimed. "Hi! I didn't think I would see you to—"
"We're doing it."
"W-What?"
"We're doing it," Yoongi repeated, a small smile tugging at his lips. "We're gonna get you out of here."
It took a moment for his words to process in Jin's head, but when they did, he smiled widely. "Really?!" The pure excitement in his voice and face allowed the smile to fully take over Yoongi's face.
"Yes, Jin. Really."
"The first thing I'm doing when I get out of here is hugging you," Jin declared, rushing up to the glass and pressing his hands against it. Heat rushed to Yoongi's cheeks as he placed his own hands on the glass where Jin's were.
"Whatever you want to do, Jin. This is your night."
"How are you gonna get me out of here?" Jin asked. Yoongi paused. Now that was something he hadn't thought too much about. He began looking around the room and stopped when he found a chair by the metal table near the back. He rushed over and picked it up, feeling it in his hands. It was sturdy and solid. It should do.
"Stand back," he told Jin. He scurried back as Yoongi ran forward and threw the chair at the glass with all his might. With a thump, the chair hit the glass and fell to the floor, the glass completely unharmed. The two boys stared at it for a moment.
"Wow," Jin said, nodding. "My hero."
"Shut up, it works better in movies," Yoongi said before picking up the chair again. With loud grunts, he began hitting the chair against the glass over and over again, the thumps reverberating throughout the room each time. Jin watched for a moment before picking up his own chair and hitting the same spot from the other side.
The glass cracked.
The boys paused before looking at it each other. "No turning back now," Jin said with a grin. Yoongi managed to smile back.
"Nope."
The boys resumed hitting the spot, and eventually the glass completely shattered, shards spraying everywhere. They both stumbled back, covering their faces and dropping their chairs. Yoongi grunted in surprise as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "Thank you," Jin muttered, his hot breath fanning over Yoongi's neck. "Thank you so much." Yoongi chuckled and wrapped his arms around Jin's body, pulling him closer and relishing the warmth from their body heats mixing together.
Commotion suddenly sounded from outside the door, shouts and footsteps rushing towards them. "Shit!" Yoongi exclaimed, pulling away and rushing to heave the metal table in front of the door. With Jin's help, they managed to barricade the door just as it clicked open. Shouts of frustration came from the other side as they struggled to get the door open, and it would only be a matter of time until they did. Yoongi cursed again. He should've known they wouldn't let Jin leave that easily.
"What are we gonna do?" Jin asked, panicked. Yoongi's eyes landed on the window where he could see his car waiting outside, the doors wide open and inviting. He quickly ran and picked up the chair again, this time throwing it at the window. The adrenaline allowed him to throw it hard enough that the glass broke first try. He turned back to Jin and held out a hand.
"Do you trust me?" Jin nodded without hesitation and took his hand. "Tuck and roll!" Yoongi yelled just as the door burst open. The two boys jumped out the window, screaming as they plummeted towards the ground. They landed in some shrubs planted at the base of the building, and they quickly scrambled to their feet and raced towards the car. "Get in!" Yoongi yelled as he rushed to the driver's side. Jin jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut just as Yoongi jumped into the driver's feet and slammed on the gas. The car lurched forward and sped off. Neither spoke, only sat breathing heavily, until they were a couple blocks down from the hospital.
"We just did that!" Jin said.
"We just did that," Yoongi said with a nod.
Jin laughed and looked out the window in awe. "Everything looks so much more lively up close..."
"That'll have to wait," Yoongi said. "First we gotta ditch the car and get a new one. Then we're gonna go to my house."
"Why?"
Yoongi smiled as he glanced over. "You're in need of a new hairdo."
Half an hour later, the two boys were sat in Yoongi's friend Taehyung's car, Jin sitting in the passenger seat wearing ripped blue jeans, a red hoodie, and sneakers they had also borrowed from Taehyung as well as donning freshly dyed purple hair. As they drove, Yoongi rolled down Jin's window to allow him to see closer. With the wind blowing his hair back, Jin leaned out the window, straining to see everything as they flew past. He wasn't an idiot. He knew his time was limited. Which was why he was determined to see and do as much as he could.
Yoongi eventually pulled the car into the parking lot of D-2 Mall, and Jin jumped out as soon as the car stopped. "You remembered," he said with a smile as Yoongi walked up beside him. He nodded.
"I did."
Jin had once told Yoongi about an episode of a show he watched where a group of friends went to the mall and accidentally stole from one of the stores, escaping security by sliding down the escalators. He said he's always wanted to go to one. "Just, you know, without the stealing and security chase," he had added with a laugh. So that was what they were doing first.
Inside, Jin dashed into every store and restaurant just to look around and "bask in the freedom" as he called it. In any other scenario, Yoongi would be embarrassed by his friend's actions, but in their scenario his only concern was allowing Jin to have as much fun as he could. Which was why, despite the light dusting of pink that appeared on his cheeks, he allowed Jin to hold his hand as they walked from store to store. "What does rolled ice cream taste like?" Jin asked as they walked past a vendor.
"Like... ice cream."
"Oh." Jin pouted. "Well it's not like I've ever had either, so..."
Yoongi smiled and dragged him over to the vendor, reluctantly letting go of his hand so he could take out his wallet. "Here," he said, holding the cup of ice cream to him.
"Yoongs, you didn't have to—"
"I know," Yoongi interrupted. "I wanted to." He shoved the spoon in his face. "Now eat it!"
Jin took the spoon from Yoongi's hand and took a bite of the ice cream. His eyes lit up. "It's good!" he said, taking the cup and eating some more. Yoongi smiled as he watched Jin enjoy the treat, but became confused when he held the spoon out to him. "I'm feeding you," Jin said.
"What?!" Yoongi exclaimed, earning some looks from other shoppers as the pink returned to his cheeks. Jin pouted.
"It's what they do in the shows. Now eat it."
With a sigh, Yoongi opened his mouth and allowed Jin to feed him. Jin laughed in delight and continued to eat while Yoongi tried not to have a heatstroke. Eventually the two boys left the mall, once again hand-in-hand, with Jin jumping excitedly beside Yoongi as he thanked him a million times. But once he was sat in the car again, he began to cough. "You okay?" Yoongi asked before internally kicking himself. Of course he wasn't okay. He shouldn't even be out here.
"It's okay," Jin said with a hoarse voice, smiling at Yoongi encouragingly. "I can manage for a few more hours."
Hours...
Yoongi nodded. "Good. There's a couple more things I want to show you." They began driving again until they arrived at the beach. Jin laughed and ran out, kicking off his shoes once he reached the sand. A salty breeze blew, and he closed his eyes as he buried his feet in the warm sand. Yoongi watched as Jin ran out to the water only to shriek once his feet touched it. "It's cold!" Yoongi called out.
"Now you tell me!" Jin called back in false annoyance. Yoongi laughed as Jin waded deeper, splashing around without a care. "Come on, Yoongs!" he called, waving his arms as he beckoned Yoongi closer. "The water's fun!" He giggled as Yoongi came closer, and he chuckled.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it, Jin," he said. Jin's smile widened and he ran over to pull Yoongi into another hug. Yoongi hugged him back, burying his face in his hair as the smell of hair dye shot up his nose. He suddenly yelped as he felt himself being pulled into the water. The waves washed over both boys, and Yoongi immediately pushed himself up when it passed and began spitting out water. "Jin!" he cried, rubbing at his burning eyes. "This is salt water!"
Jin giggled, rubbing at his own eyes. "Sorry," he said. "I just couldn't—" He began to cough again, the fit becoming so intense that he lost his balance and leaned forward. Yoongi held him up until he finished, and when he did, he leaned his head against Yoongi's chest. Yoongi felt his heart clench as he held Jin close, his burning eyes now having nothing to do with the salt water. He looked up and smiled. This is what he had wanted Jin to see.
"Look up, Jin."
The sun was starting to set, disappearing where the ocean met the horizon in the distance. Jin breathed a sigh of wonder. "It's beautiful..." he whispered as he gazed up at the sky being painted in brilliant pinks, reds, and oranges. The two boys sat in each other's embrace, the waves of the ocean lapping around them, until the sun had completely disappeared. The sky had started to darken, reminding Yoongi of their time limit.
"Come on," he said as he stood from the water, his clothes dripping. "There's more." Jin started to stand, but quickly lost his balance and collapsed. Yoongi dove to catch him. Jin's skin was hot, red hives starting to break out along his arms and neck. His breathing was heavy and his body trembled with strain. Yoongi had to fight back the tears welling up in his eyes.
Jin was dying. They didn't have much time left.
Yoongi gently lifted Jin's face so they were looking each other in the eyes. "Just hold on for a little longer, okay?" he said. "There's one more thing I gotta show you." Jin managed a feeble nod, and together they managed to make it back to the car. Yoongi was driving as fast he could, glancing at Jin every few seconds to make sure the boy was still breathing. He was slumped in his seat, eyelids fluttering with each blink. His window was open, but he wasn't looking out it at all. It seemed like such an effort for him just to keep his eyes open. Yoongi turned to focus on the road, squeezing the wheel so tight his knuckles turned white as he prayed to whoever might have been listening.
Please just let him live until we can get there...
They pulled up in front of a greenhouse, and Yoongi didn't even bother taking the keys out of the ignition before jumping out and leading Jin inside. "This place has the most plants in the whole city," he said they stepped into the main room. Jin gaped at all the different trees and flowers, all different varieties growing under one roof.
"Amazing, Yoongs..." he managed to choke out. Yoongi smiled and nodded, trying to memorize the light shining in Jin's eyes. Jin shifted his foot to the left, and Yoongi got the hint to begin leading him around the room. They stopped at every plant, Yoongi supporting Jin as he kneeled down to examine it and run his fingers along the petals and leaves. Eventually the boys made it to the middle of the room, where a large tree growing purple wisteria flowers loomed above them. The flowers were drooping down from the branches, hanging like a curtain, and Yoongi led Jin up to them and supported the boy as he reached up to gently graze the flowers.
Then he collapsed.
"Jin!" Yoongi yelled, his tear-filled cry echoing throughout the room. Kneeling on the floor underneath the wisteria tree, Yoongi held his friend close in his lap as he watched his heavy breaths. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and Yoongi gently parted his purple locks out of the way before caressing his pale face. "I'm so sorry," he said, guilt and heartbreak pouring out of his eyes and down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry..."
Jin managed to find Yoongi's eyes, shaking his head weakly. "No..." he croaked. "Not... your—"
"Don't talk," Yoongi said. "Save your energy, please." Jin exhaled and nodded once, blinking slowly as the light in his eyes began to dim. Yoongi sobbed and held him close. "I love you so much, Jin," he said. "I love you, and I'm so sorry..."
Jin wanted to repeat those words. He wanted to thank Yoongi a million more times, tell him he loved him too, tell him he brought light back into his life. But he barely had the energy to keep his eyes open, so he just had to hope he had shown Yoongi enough.
Through his blurry vision, Yoongi spotted a patch of flowers growing at the base of the wisteria tree. Bellflowers, like the one he had brought Jin. He remembered his face as he stared at it, hand pressed against the glass. "What I would give to touch it right now..." he had said.
Yoongi quickly leaned over and plucked one, holding it near Jin's limp hand. "Jin," he whispered. "Look. A bellflower, Jin. You said you wanted to touch it. Hurry. Touch it."
Jin managed to find the flower and shakily raise his hand, rubbing the purple petals softly. He smiled as his hand fell back to his side, unable to keep it up any longer. Yoongi quietly sobbed as he placed the flower in Jin's hair, leaning forward and kissing his slick forehead gently. "I love you, my flower boy..." he said.
Through darkening vision, Jin managed to find Yoongi's hand and squeeze it with the last of his energy, hoping that all the love and gratitude he felt would be received in Yoongi's heart.
And it was.